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LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
1? HE@eeriRASTUS
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS
BOOKS 1-5
Translated by
ARTHUR HORT
THEOPHRASTUS of Eresus in Lesbos,
born about 370 Bc, is the author of the
most important botanical works that have
survived from classical antiquity. He was
in turn the student, collaborator, and suc-
cessor of Aristotle. Like his predecessor he
was interested in all aspects of human
knowledge and experience, especially
natural science. His writings on plants
form a counterpart to Aristotle’s zoologi-
cal works.
In the Enquiry into Plants Theophrastus
classifies and describes varieties—covering
trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs,
herbaceous plants, and cereals; in the last
of the nine books he focuses on plant
juices and medicinal properties of herbs.
The Loeb edition is in two volumes; the
second contains two additional treatises:
On Odors and Weather Signs.
In De Causis Plantarum Theophrastus turns
to plant physiology. Books One and Two
are concerned with generation, sprouting,
flowering and fruiting, and the effects of
climate. In Books Three and Four Theo-
phrastus studies cultivation and agricul-
tural methods. In Books Five and Six he
discusses plant breeding; diseases and
other causes of death; and distinctive
flavors and odors.
Theophrastus’ celebrated Characters, of a
quite different nature, is the earliest known
character-writing and a striking reflection
of contemporary life.
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THE LOEB CLASSICAMEIDRARY
FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB
EDITED BY
GP. COOLD
PREVIOUS EDITORS
AEs AGE E. CAPPS
W.H. Ὁ. ROUSE LL. A. BOSD
E. H. WARMINGTON
THEOPHRAST US
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS
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ΤᾺ ΡΠ TUS
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS
BOOKS I-V
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
ARTHUR HORT
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
LONDON, ENGLAND
First published 1916
Reprinted 1948, 1961, 1968, 1990, 1999
LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY “is a registered trademark
of the President and Fellows of Harvard College
ISBN 0-674-99077-3
Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Ltd,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on acid-free paper.
Bound by Hunter & Foulis Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION St lida! Sica
BOOK I
OF THE PARTS OF PLANTS AND THEIR COMPOSITION,
OF CLASSIFICATION
Introductory: How plants are to be classified ; difficulty
of defining what are the essential ‘ parts’ of a plant,
especially if plants are assumed to correspond to
animals ee
The essential parts of lisse, od the materiale of ahieh
they are made
Definitions of the various Ἔσο inte ΓΤ plants may
be divided
Exact classification oe ee aii τε τ pees
of classification
Differences as to appearance τοῦ τ a eee δὲ
Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, reins
general, special, or seen in qualities and properties
Differences as to qualities and properties. . . . .
Further ‘special’ differences
Differences in root . :
Of trees (principally) and phew ghenmcistienhe prea
differences: aS tOckMObLBic:..%) sce check ieieaie δι νμν
Astohabit .... “gids ian oh Le, (eg Chaar ies oe oat ae
As to shedding of ees ΟΣ oid) ue MACE hal κε τ ΝΣ
Differences in leaves .. . Ὁ μολυρνις μὲ
Composition of the various ee Sea Wat. Ssnite δι are
Differences inseeds ) 5./, 5) πο: 2 Si adieltathle Be
xiii
CONTENTS
Differences in taste. . .
Differences in flowers .
Differences in fruits :
General differences (affecting the Geeks τ εἰ
BOOK II
OF PROPAGATION, ESPECIALLY OF TREES
Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. In-
stances of degeneration from seed
litfects of situation, climate, tendance
Of spontaneous changes in the character of recs, and
of certain marvels
Of spontaneous and other changes in piether τς :
Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation
Of the propagation of whe date- aa of palms in
general : a ae oy teal
Further notes on the ΠΣ ὧς τ oe
Of the cultivation of trees AE oe
Of remedies for the shedding of the πεν caprification
BOOK III
OF WILD TREES
Of the ways in which wild trees originate ΤῊΝ
Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees
Of mountain trees: of the differences found in wild trees
Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as com-
pared with cultivated, trees. -.......
Of the seasons of budding .
Of the comparative rate of Pail in Hid! maa of ae
length of their roots :
Of the effects of cutting down the w male: or - part of a a
Of other things horde by trees besides their leaves
flowers and fruit . st so ΩΝ ATS
Of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in trees: the oak as an example
of this and other differences ....... See
vi
PAGE
85
89
97
99
105
115
119
123
127
135
145
145
151
CONTENTS
Of the differences in firs
Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, el
Of vane and ash She Roe ΚΠ ΚΥ ΝΣ A
Of SS tg cherry, cornel, ποῖσε medlar, thorns,
ΒΟ ... ἠδ ΑΕ ΧΗ ie
Of bird-cherry, πος τῆτες
Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, Pedder: a eunal
Of filbert, terebinth, box, krafaigos .... ve
Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, το ee ake
Of cork-oak, kolutea, koloitia, and of certain other
trees peculiar to particular localities .
Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, ne
Christ’s thorn, bramble, sumach, ae smilax,
[spindle -treely (ieee oan: slpioline Weiner feelers ta:
BOOK IV
OF TITE TREES AND PLANTS SPECIAL TO PARTICULAR
DISTRICTS AND POSITIONS
Of the importance of position and climate :
Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob .
Of tho trees and shrubs special to Libya
Of the trees and herbs special to Asia
Of the plants special to northern regions .
Of the aquatic plants of the Mc chitennanena
Of the aquatic plants of the ‘outer sea’ (ve. Asontie
Persian Gulf, etc.) .
Of the plants of rivers, m ony, ane tate) sgnewnik,
ΤΠ AMU PRUE acco bens; 28 ta Lo MGd Verena oir Cog hla a) aN
Of the plants ἀπ ν to ae ake of Ὀε οτος (Lake
Copais), especially its recs, and of reeds in general
Of rushes...
Of the length or shortness a the life τ pleat al the
causes ; :
Of diseases and ἘΠ στο oe Ww Sees τ πες
Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heart-
wood, roots, etc. ; of various causes of death...
PAGE.
21)
22]
22]
233
243
249
253
259
265
269
CONTENTS
BOOK V
OF THE TIMBER OF VARIOUS TREES AND ITS USES
PAGE
Of the seasons of cutting ..... a wreable a<s+ewe Ei
OF the wood of silver-fir‘and fr 6 . < see 2 δ: 49]
OF the effects on timber of climate:.i@ 22/4 27922 427
Of knots and! Scoilimg:7 in timberin 4) 19 h2 229 2 429
Of differences in the texture of different αὐδάν δ eee ao
Of differences in timber as to hardness and heaviness . 439
Of differences in the keeping quality of timber ... . 441
Which kinds of wood are easy and which hard to work.
Of the’ core: and its effects’: #0" so.) “ond a 5
Which woods can best support weight . . .. . . 451
Of the woods best suited for tie! carpenter’s various
ῬΌΓΡΟΒΟΒ Ss Soci days ws be Ce Oe ee uD val eae
Of the woods used in ship-building ....... is ade
Of the woods used in house-building ......... 459
Of the uses of the wood of particular trees ...... 459
Of the localities in which the best timber grows. . . 463
Of the uses of various woods in making fire: charcoal,
fuel, fire-sticks 31/37) Sak 0s td από νον «GS 00
ν
PREFACE
Tus is, I believe, the first attempt at an English
translation of the ‘Enquiry into Plants.’ That it
should be found entirely satisfactory is not to be
expected, since the translator is not, as he should be,
a botanist; moreover, in the present state at least
of the text, the Greek of Theophrastus is sometimes
singularly elusive. I should never have undertaken
such a responsibility without the encouragement of
that veteran student of plant-lore the Rev. Canon
Ellacombe, who first suggested that I should make
the attempt and introduced me to the book. It is a
great grief that he did not live to see the completion
of the work which he set me. If I had thought
it essential that a translator of Theophrastus should
himself grapple with the difficulties of identifying
the plants which he mentions, I must have declined
a task which has otherwise proved quite onerous
enough. However the kindness and the expert
knowledge of Sir William Thiselton-Dyer came to
my rescue; to him I not only owe gratitude for
constant help throughout; the identifications in the
Index of Plants are entirely his work, compared
with which the compilation of the Index itself was
PREFACE
but mechanical labour. And he has greatly increased
my debt and the reader's by reading the proofs of
my translation and of the Index. This is perhaps
the place to add a note on the translation of the
plant-names in the text:—where possible, I have
given an English equivalent, though I am conscious
that such names as ‘Christ’s thorn,’ § Michaelmas
daisy’ must read oddly in a translation of a work
written 300 years before Christ; to print Linnean
binary names would have been at least equally
incongruous. Where an English name was _ not
obvious, although the plant is British or known in
British gardens, I have usually consulted Britten
and Holland’s Dictionary of Plant-names. Where
no English equivalent could be found, 1.6. chiefly
where the plant is not either British or familiar in
this country, I have either transliterated the Greek
name (as arakhidna) or given a literal rendering of it
in inverted commas (as ‘foxbrush’ for ἀλωπέκουρος) ;
but the derivation of Greek plant-names being often
obscure, I have not used this device unless the
meaning seemed to be beyond question. In some
cases it has been necessary to preserve the Greek
name and to give the English name after it in
brackets. This seemed desirable wherever the author
has apparently used more than one name for the
same plant, the explanation doubtless being that he
was drawing on different local authorities; thus κέρασος
and λακάρη both probably represent ‘ bird-cherry,’
the latter being the Macedonian name for the tree.
x
PREFACE
Apart from this reason, in a few places (as 3.8.2;
3.10.3.) it seemed necessary to give both the Greek
and the English name in order to bring out some
particular point. On the other hand one Greek
name often covers several plants, e.g. λωτός ; in such
cases I hope that a reference to the Index will make
all clear. Inverted commas indicate that the render-
ing is a literal translation of the Greek word; the
identification of the plant will be found in the Index.
Thus φελλόδρυς is rendered ‘ cork-oak,’ though ¢ holm-
oak’ would be the correct rendering,—cork-oak (quer-
cus Suber) being what Theophrastus calls φελλός.
which is accordingly rendered cork-oak without
commas. As to the spelling of proper names, con-
sistency without pedantry seems unattainable. One
cannot write names such as Arcadia or Alexander
otherwise than as they are commonly written; but
I cannot bring myself to Latinise a Greek name if it
can be helped, wherefore I have simply transliterated
the less familiar names; the line drawn must of
course be arbitrary.
The text printed is in the main that of Wimmer’s
second edition (see Introd. p. xiv). The textual notes
are not intended as a complete apparatus criticus ;
to provide a satisfactory apparatus it would probably
be necessary to collate the manuscripts afresh. I have
had to be content with giving Wimmer’s statements
as to MS. authority ; this I have done wherever any
question of interpretation depended on the reading ;
but I have not thought it necessary to record mere
xi
PREFACE
variations of spelling. Where the textual notes go
beyond bare citation of the readings of the MSS., Ald.,
Gaza, and Pliny, it is usually because I have there
departed from Wimmer’s text. The references to
Pliny will, I hope, be found fairly complete. I am
indebted for most of them to Schneider, but I have
verified these and all other references.
I venture to hope that this translation, with its
references and Index of Plants, may assist some
competent scholar-botanist to produce an edition
worthy of the author.
Besides those already mentioned I have to thank
also my friends Professor D’Arcy Thompson, C.B.,
Litt.D. of Dundee, Mr. A. W. Hill of Kew, Mr. E. A.
Bowles for help of various kinds, and the Rev. F. W.
Galpin for his learned exposition of a passage which
otherwise would have been dark indeed to me—the
description of the manufacture of the reed mouth-
pieces of wood-wind instruments in Book IV. Sir John
Sandys, Public Orator of Cambridge University, was
good enough to give me valuable help in matters of
bibliography.
xii
INTRODUCTION
I.— BisiioGRaPHy AND ABBREVIATIONS USED
A. Textual Authorities
Wimmer divides the authorities on which the text
of the περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία is based into three classes :—
First Class :
U. Codex Urbinas: in the Vatican. Collated by
Bekker and Amati; far the best extant
MS., but evidently founded on a much
corrupted copy. See note on 9. 8. 1.
P,. Codex Parisiensis: at Paris. Contains con-
siderable excerpts; evidently founded on a
good MS.; considered by Wimmer second
only in authority to U.
(Of other collections of excerpts may
be mentioned one at Munich, called after
Pletho.)
Second Class :
M (M,, M,). Codices Medicei: at Florence.
Agree so closely that they may be re-
garded as a single MS.; considered by
Wimmer much inferior to U, but of higher
authority than Ald.
Xi
INTRODUCTION
P. Codex Parisiensis: at Paris. Considered by
Wimmer somewhat inferior to M and V,
and more on a level with Ald.
mP, Margin of the above. A note in the MS.
states that the marginal notes are not scholia,
but variae lectiones aut emendationes.
V. Codex Vindobonensis: at Vienna. Contains
the first five books and two chapters of the
sixth; closely resembles M in style and
readings.
Third Class :
Ald. Editio Aldina: the edztzo princeps, printed
at Venice 1495-8. Believed by Wimmer
to be founded on a single MS., and that
an inferior one to those enumerated above,
and also to that used by Gaza. Its readings
seem often to show signs of a deliberate
attempt to produce a smooth text: hence
the value of this edition as witness to an
independent MS. authority is much im-
paired.
(Bas. Editio Basiliensis: printed at Bale, 1541.
A careful copy of Ald., in which a number
of printer’s errors are corrected and a few
new ones introduced (Wimmer).
Cam. Editio Camotiana (or Aldina minor, altera) :
printed at Venice, 1552. Also copied from
Ald., but less carefully corrected than Bas. ;
the editor Camotius, in a few passages,
Xiv
INTRODUCTION
altered the text to accord with Gaza’s
version.)
G. The Latin version of Theodore Gaza,! the
Greek refugee: first printed at Treviso
(Tarvisium) in 1483. A wonderful work
for the time at which it appeared. Its
present value is due to the fact that the
translation was made from a different MS.
to any now known. Unfortunately how-
ever this does not seem to have been a
better text than that on which the Aldine
edition was based. Moreover Gaza did not
stick to his authority, but adopted freely
Pliny’s versions of Theophrastus, emending
where he could not follow Pliny. There
are several editions of Gaza’s work: thus
G. Par.G. Bas. indicate respectively editions pub-
lished at Paris in 1529 and at Bale in 1534
and 1550. Wimmer has no doubt that the
Tarvisian is the earliest edition, and he
gives its readings, whereas Schneider often
took those of G.Bas.
Vin. Vo.Cod.Cas. indicate readings which Schnei-
der believed to have MS. authority, but
which are really anonymous emendations
from the margins of MSS. used by his pre-
decessors, and all, in Wimmer’s opinion
1 See Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, ii. p. 62, etc.
XV
INTRODUCTION
‘traceable to Gaza’s version. Schneider's
so-called Codex Casauboni he knew, ac-
cording to Wimmer, only from Hofmann’s
edition.
B. Editions
H. Editio Heinsii, printed at Leyden, 1613: founded
on Cam. and very carelessly printed, repeating
the misprints of that edition and adding many
others. In the preface Daniel Heins! pretends
to have had access to a critical edition and to a
Heidelberg MS.; this claim appears to be en-
tirely fictitious. The book indeed contains what
Wimmer calls a farrago emendationum; heremarks
that ‘all the good things in it Heinsius owed
to the wit of others, while all its faults and
follies we owe to Heinsius.’ Schneider calls it
edilio omnium pessima.
Bod. Editio Bodaei (viz. of Joannes Bodaeus a
XVi
Stapel), printed at Amsterdam, 1644. The text
of Heinsius is closely followed ; the margin con-
tains a number of emendations taken from the
margin of Bas. and from Scaliger, Robertus Con-
stantinus, and Salmasius, with a few due to the
editor himself. The commentary, according to
Sir William Thiselton-Dyer, is ‘botanically
monumental and fundamental.’
1 See Sandys, op. cit. p. 313 ete.
INTRODUCTION
St. Stackhouse, Oxford, 1813: a prettily printed
Sch.
edition with some illustrations: text founded on
Ald. The editor seems to have been a fair
botanist, but an indifferent scholar, though occa-
sionally he hits on a certain emendation. The
notes are short and generally of slight value.
The book is however of interest, as being appa-
rently the only work on the ‘ Enquiry’ hitherto
published in England.
J. G. Schneider (and Linck), Leipzig: vols.
i-iv. published in 1818, vol. v. in 1821; contains
also the περὶ αἰτιῶν and the fragments, and a re-
print of Gaza’s version (corrected). The fifth,
or supplementary, volume, written during the
author’s last illness, takes account of the Codex
Urbinas, which, unfortunately for Schneider,
did not become known till his edition was
finished. It is remarkable in how many places
he anticipated by acute emendation the readings
of U. The fifth volume also gives an account of
criticisms of the earlier volumes by the eminent
Greek Adamantios Koraés! and Kurt Sprengel.
This is a monumental edition, despite the ver-
bosity of the notes, somewhat careless references
and reproduction of the MSS. readings, and an
imperfect comprehension of the compressed
style of Theophrastus, which leads to a good
deal of wild emendation or rewriting of the
text. For the first time we find an attempt at
1 See Sandys, op. cit. iii. pp. 361 foll.
XVii
INTRODUCTION
providing a critical text, founded not on the
Aldine edition, but on comparison of the manu-
scripts then known; the Medicean and Viennese
had been collated a few years before by J. Th.
Schneider. We find also full use made of the
ancient authors, Athenaeus, Plutarch, Pliny,
Dioscorides, Nicander, Galen, etc., who quoted or
adapted passages of Theophrastus, and copious
references, often illuminating, to those who
illustrate him, as Varro, Columella, Palladius,
Aelian, the Geoponica.
Spr. Kurt Sprengel, Halle, 1822. This is not an
edition of the text, but a copious commentary
with German translation. Sprengel was a better
botanist than scholar; Wimmer speaks dis-
paragingly of his knowledge of Greek and of
the translation. (See note prefixed to the
Index of Plants.)
W Fr. Wimmer: (1) An edition with introduction,
analysis, critical notes, and Sprengel’s identi-
fications of the plant-names ; Breslau, 1842.
(2) A further revised text with new Latin
translation, apparatus criticus, and full indices ;
the Index Plantarum gives the identifications of
Sprengel and Fraas; Didot Library, Paris, n.d.
(3) A reprint of this text in Teubner’s series,
1854,
These three books are an indispensable supplement
to Schneider's great work. The notes in the edition of
XVili
INTRODUCTION
1842 are in the main critical, but the editor’s remarks
on the interpretation of thorny passages are often
extremely acute, and always worth attention. The
mass of material collected by Schneider is put into
an accessible form. Wimmer is far more conservative
in textual criticism than Schneider, and has a better
appreciation of Theophrastus’ elliptical and some-
what peculiar idiom, though some of his emendations
appear to rest on little basis. A collation of the
Paris MSS. (P and P,) was made for Wimmer; for
the readings of U and M he relied on Schneider,
who, in his fifth volume, had compared U with
Bodaeus’ edition. A fresh collation of the rather
exiguous manuscript authorities is perhaps required
before anything like a definitive text can be pro-
vided. Wimmer’s Latin translation is not very
helpful, since it slurs the difficulties: the Didot
edition, in which it appears, is disfigured with
numerous misprints.
(Sandys’ History of Classical Scholarship (ii. p. 380)
mentions translations into Latin and Italian by
Bandini; of this work I know nothing.)
C. Other Commentators
Seal. J.C. Scaliger : Commentarii et animadverstones on
the περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία posthumously published
by his son Sylvius at Leyden, 1584. (He also
wrote a commentary on the περὶ αἰτιῶν, which
was edited by Robertus Constantinus and pub-
xix
INTRODUCTION
lished at Geneva in 1566.) The most accurate
and brilliant scholar who has contributed to the
elucidation of Theophrastus.
R.Const. Robertus Constantinus (see above). Added
notes of his own, many of them valuable, which
are given with Scaliger’s in Bodaeus’ edition.
Salm. Salmasius (Claude de Saumaise). Made many
happy corrections of Theophrastus’ text in his
Exzercitationes Plinianae.
Palm. Jacobus Palmerius (Jacques de Paulmier).
His Exercitaliones tn oplimos auctores Graecos
(Leyden, 1668) contain a certain number of
acute emendations ; Wimmer considers that he
had a good understanding of Theophrastus’
style.
Meurs. Johannes Meursius (Jan de Meurs). Author
of some critical notes on Theophrastus pub-
lished at Leyden in 1640; also of a book on
Crete.
Dalec. Jean Jacques D’Aléchamps: the botanist.
Author of Historia plantarum universalis, Lyons,
1587, and editor of Pliny’s Natwral History.
Mold. J. J. P. Moldenhauer. Author of T'entamen
in Historiam plantarum Theophrasti, Hamburg,
1791. This book, which I have not been able
to see and know only from Wimmer’s citations,
contains, according to him, very valuable notes
on the extremely difficult Introduction to the
‘ Historia’ (Book I. chaps. i.-ii.).
XxX
INTRODUCTION
II.—Tueorurastus Lirk anp Works
Such information as we possess concerning the
life of Theophrastus comes mainly from Diogenes
Laertius’ Lives of the Philosophers, compiled at least
four hundred years after Theophrastus’ death; it is
given therefore here for what it may be worth;
there is no intrinsic improbability in most of what
Diogenes records.
He was born in 370 B.c. at Eresos in Lesbos; at
an early age he went to Athens and there became a
pupil of Plato. It may be surmised that it was from
him that he first learnt the importance of that
principle of classification which runs through all his
extant works, including even the brochure known as
the ‘Characters’ (if it is rightly ascribed to him),
and which is ordinarily considered as characteristic
of the teaching of his second master Aristotle. But
in Plato’s own later speculations classification had a
very important place, since it was by grouping things
in their ‘natural kinds’ that, according to his later
metaphysic, men were to arrive at an adumbration
of the ‘ideal forms’ of which these kinds are the
phenomenal counterpart, and which constitute the
world of reality. Whether Theophrastus gathered
the principle of classification from Plato or from his
fellow-pupil Aristotle, it appears in his hands to
have been for the first time systematically applied
to the vegetable world. Throughout his botanical
xxi
INTRODUCTION
works the constant implied question is ‘ What is its
difference ?’, ‘What is its essential nature ?’, viz. ‘What
are the characteristic features in virtue of which a
plant may be distinguished from other plants, and
which make up its own ‘nature’ or essential
character ?
Theophrastus appears to have been only Aristotle’s
junior by fifteen years. On Plato’s death he became
Aristotle’s pupil, but, the difference in age not being
very great, he and his second master appear to have
been on practically equal terms. We are assured
that Aristotle was deeply attached to his friend ;
while as earnest of an equally deep attachment on
the other side Theophrastus took Aristotle’s son
under his particular care after his father’s death.
Aristotle died at the age of sixty-three, leaving to
his favourite pupil his books, including the auto-
graphs of his own works, and his garden in the
grounds of the Lyceum. ‘The first of these bequests,
if the information is correct, is of great historical
importance; it may well be that we owe to
Theophrastus the publication of some at least of
his master’s voluminous works. And as to the
garden it is evident that it was here that the first
systematic botanist made many of the observations
which are recorded in his botanical works. Diogenes
has preserved his will, and there is nothing in the
terms of this interesting document to suggest that
it is not authentic. Of special interest is the
provision made for the maintenance of the garden;
x y¥di
INTRODUCTION
it is bequeathed to certain specified friends and to
those who will spend their time with them in learn-
ing and philosophy; the testator is to be buried
in it without extravagant expense, a custodian is
appointed, and provision is made for the emancipa-
tion of various gardeners, so soon as they have
earned their freedom by long enough service.
According to Diogenes Theophrastus died at the
age of eighty-five. He is made indeed to say in the
probably spurious Preface to the ‘ Characters’ that he
is writing in his ninety-ninth year; while St. Jerome’s
Chronicle asserts that he lived to the age of 107.
Accepting Diogenes’ date, we may take it that he
died about 285 s.c.; it is said that he complained
that “we die just when we are beginning to live.”
His life must indeed have been a remarkably full
and interesting one, when we consider that he
enjoyed the personal friendship of two such men as
Plato and Aristotle, and that he had witnessed the
whole of the careers of Philip and Alexander of
Macedon. ‘To Alexander indeed he was directly
indebted ; the great conqueror had not been for
nothing the pupil of the encyclopaedic Aristotle.
He took with him to the East scientifically trained
observers, the results of whose observations were at
Theophrastus’ disposal. Hence it is that his de-
scriptions of plants are not limited to the flora of
Greece and the Levant; to the reports of Alexander’s
followers he owed his accounts of such plants as the
cotton-plant, banyan, pepper, cinnamon, myrrh and
xxiii
INTRODUCTION
frankincense. It has been a subject of some con-
troversy whence he derived his accounts of plants
whose habitat was nearer home. Kirchner, in an
able tract, combats the contention of Sprengel that
his observations even of the Greek flora were not
made at first hand. Now at this period the Peri-
patetic School must have been a very important
educational institution; Diogenes says that under
Theophrastus it numbered two thousand pupils.
Moreover we may fairly assume that Alexander, from
his connexion with Aristotle, was interested in it,
while we are told that at a later time Demetrius
Phalereus assisted it financially. May we not hazard
a guess that a number of the students were ap-
propriately employed in the collection of facts and
observations? The assumption that a number of
‘travelling students’ were so employed would at all
events explain certain references in Theophrastus’
botanical works. He says constantly ‘The Maced-
onians say, ‘The men of Mount Ida say’ and so
forth. Now it seems hardly probable that he is
quoting from written treatises by Macedonian or
Idaean writers. It is at least a plausible suggestion
that in such references he is referring to reports ot
the districts in question contributed by students
of the school. In that case ‘The Macedonians say ’
would mean ‘ This is what our representative was
told in Macedonia.’ It is further noticeable that
the tense used is sometimes past, e.g. ‘The men of
Mount Ida said’; an obvious explanation of this is
χχὶν
INTRODUCTION
supplied by the above conjecture. It is even possible
that in one place (3. 12. 4.) the name of one of these
students has been preserved.
Theophrastus, like his master, was a very volu-
minous writer; Diogenes gives a list of 227 treatises
from his pen, covering most topics of human interest,
as Religion, Politics, Ethics, Education, Rhetoric,
Mathematics, Astronomy, Logic, Meteorology and
other natural sciences. His oratorical works enjoyed
a high reputation in antiquity. Diogenes attributes
to him ten works on Rhetoric, of which one On Style
was known to Cicero, who adopted from it the
classification of styles into the ‘ grand,’ the “ plain,’
and the ‘ intermediate.’! Of one or two other lost
works we have some knowledge. Thus the substance
of an essay on Piety is preserved in Porphyry de
Abstinentia.2, The principal works still extant are
the nine books of the Enquiry into Plants, and the
six books on the Causes of Plants ; these seem to be
complete. We have also considerable fragments of
treatises entitled :—of Sense-perception and objects
of Sense, of Stones, of Fire, of Odours, of Winds, of
Weather-Signs, of Weariness, of Dizziness, of Sweat,
Metaphysics, besides a number of unassigned excerpts.
The style of these works, as of the botanical books,
suggests that, as in the case of Aristotle, what we
possess consists of notes for lectures or notes taken
of lectures. There is no literary charm; the sen-
1 Sandys, i. p. 99.
2 Bernays, Theophrastus, 1866.
XXV
INTRODUCTION
tences are mostly compressed and highly elliptical,
to the point sometimes of obscurity. It follows that
translation, as with Aristotle, must be to some extent
paraphrase. The thirty sketches of ‘Characters’
ascribed to Theophrastus, which have found many
imitators, and which are well known in this country
through Sir R. Jebb’s brilliant translation, stand on
a quite different footing ; the object of this curious
and amusing work is discussed in Sir R. Jebb’s
Introduction and in the more recent edition of
Edmonds and Austen. Well may Aristotle, as we
are assured, have commended his pupil’s diligence.
It is said that, when he retired from the headship of
the school, he handed it over to Theophrastus. We
are further told that the latter was once prosecuted
for impiety, but the attack failed; also that he was
once banished from Athens for a year, it does not
appear under what circumstances. He was con-
sidered an attractive and lively lecturer. Diogenes’
sketch ends with the quotation of some sayings
attributed to him, of which the most noteworthy
are ‘ Nothing costs us so dear as the waste of time,’
‘One had better trust an unbridled horse than
an undigested harangue.’ He was followed to
his grave, which we may hope was, in accordance
with his own wish, in some peaceful corner of the
Lyceum garden, by a great assemblage of his fellow
townsmen.
XXVI1
INTRODUCTION
The principal references in the notes are to the
following ancient authors :—
Apollon.
Arist.
Arr:
Athen.
Col.
Diod.
Diosc.
(reop.
Nic.
Pall.
Paus.
Plin.
Plut.
Seyl.
Apollonius, Historia Miraculorum.
Aristotle. Bekker, Berlin, 1831.
Arrian. Hercher (Teubner).
Athenaeus. Dindorf, Leipzig, 1827.
Columella, de re rustica. Schneider, Leipzig, 1794.
Diodorus.
Pedanius Dioscurides, de materia medica. Well-
mann, Berlin, 1907.
Geoponica. Beckh (Teubner), 1895.
Nicander, Theriaca. Schneider, Leipzig, 1816.
Palladius, de re rustica. Schneider, Leipzig, 1795.
Pausanias. Schubart (Teubner), Leipzig, 1881.
Plinius, Naturalis Historia. Mayhoff (Teubner),
1887. (Reference by book and section.)
Plutarch. Hercher (Teubner), Leipzig, 1872.
Scylax, Periplus. Vossius, Amsterdam 1639.
XX Vil
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ahs reat vrei tis: re ou Paha, Ci, δος ΠΟΙ “ΟΝ
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᾿
THEOPHRASTUS
ENQUIRY INTO: PLANTS
BOOK I
ΘΕΟΦΡΑΣΤΟΥ͂
ΠΕΡῚ ®TTON ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ
Α
a Aa Ν x \ Ν
I. Τῶν φυτῶν τὰς διαφορὰς καὶ τὴν ἄλλην
΄ / ’ \ , \ \ :
φύσιν ληπτέον κατά TE TA μέρη Kal τὰ πάθη καὶ
Ν ΓΖ \ \ , ” N \ 4
Tas γενέσεις Kal τοὺς βίους: ἤθη yap καὶ πράξεις
>’ δ) Lcd Ni aA SIN ’ € \ \
οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὥσπερ τὰ ζῶα. εἰσὶ δ᾽ αἱ μὲν κατὰ
\ / \ AS / \ \ / >
τὴν γένεσιν καὶ τὰ πάθη καὶ τοὺς βίους εὐθεωρη-
, \ Cae e \ Ν \ , ,
τότεραι καὶ pdous, ai δὲ κατὰ τὰ μέρη πλείους
’ A lal
ἔχουσι ποικιλίας. αὐτὸ yap τοῦτο πρῶτον οὐχ
ς A > , \ a a , \ \ ,
ἱκανῶς ἀφώρισται τὰ ποῖα δεῖ μέρη καὶ μὴ μέρη
a » % ld
καλεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχει τινὰ ἀπορίαν.
rms \ 5 / ee > lo O07 / a Say
To μὲν οὖν μέρος ate ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως ὃν ἀεὶ
a / x e fa) A Ὁ / 2
δοκεῖ διαμένειν ἢ ἁπλῶς ἢ ὅταν γένηται, καθάπερ
᾽ A , \ A , Ἁ ”
ἐν τοῖς ζώοις τὰ ὕστερον γενησόμενα, πλὴν εἴ τι
1 τὰ ins. Sch., om. Ald.H.
2 πάθη, a@ more general word than δυνάμεις, ‘virtues’ :
cf. 1. 5.4; 8. 4. 2; it seems to mean here something like
‘behaviour,’ in relation to environment. Instances of πάθη
are given 4. 2.11; 4.14. 6.
3 ἔχουσι conj. H.; ἔχουσαι W. with Ald.
2
THEOPHRASTUS
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS
BOOK: 1
Or tHe Parts OF PLANTS AND THEIR COMPOSITION.
Or CLASSIFICATION.
Introductory: How plants are to be classified; difficulty
of defining what are the essential ‘parts’ of a plant,
especially if plants are assumed to correspond to animals.
I. In considering the distinctive characters of
plants and their nature generally one must take
into account their! parts, their qualities? the
ways in which their life originates, and the course
which it follows in each case : (conduct and activities
we do not find in them, as we do in animals). Now
the differences in the way in which their life origin-
ates, in their qualities and in their life-history are com-
paratively easy to observe and are simpler, while
those shewn® in their ‘parts’ present more com-
plexity. Indeed it has not even been satisfactorily
determined what ought and what ought not to be
called ‘parts, and some difficulty is involved in
making the distinction.
Now it appears that by a ‘ part,’ seeing that it is
something which belongs to the plant’s characteristic
nature, we mean something which is permanent either
absolutely or when once it has appeared (like those
parts of animals which remain for a time undeveloped)
3
THEOPHRASTUS
ὃ \ U A a A 7 ’ , A
la νόσον ἢ γῆρας ἢ πήρωσιν ἀποβάλλεται. τῶν
ϑ'.}υ al f Μ γῶν Ἀν ΟΝ x σ Ἄ “ ,
δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς φυτοῖς ἔνια τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥστ᾽ ἐπέτειον
Μ \ 4
ἔχειν τὴν οὐσίαν, οἷον ἄνθος βρύον φύλλον
ld A \ an a
καρπός, ἁπλῶς ὅσα πρὸ τῶν καρπῶν ἢ ἅμα
, a a ” \ ΨΆΝ € ,
γίνεται τοῖς καρποῖς: ἔτι δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ βλαστός"
> \ / \ ᾽
αἰεὶ γὰρ ἐπίφυσιν λαμβάνει τὰ δένδρα κατ
ς , Μ a a
ἐνιαυτὸν ὁμοίως ἔν τε τοῖς ἄνω καὶ ἐν τοῖς περὶ
\ c/s [4 > (2 Lal / / ,
Tas ῥίζας: ὥστε, εἰ μέν τις ταῦτα θήσει μέρη, TO
fol ΒΥ Μ \ > 7 ἊΝ ᾽ \
τε πλῆθος ἀόριστον ἔσται Kal οὐδέποτε TO αὐτὸ
a , > 0 9 \ , 7, ar
τῶν μορίων" εἰ δ᾽ αὖ μὴ μέρη, συμβήσεται, δι᾿ ὧν
[2 4 \ ’ la) \ = /
τέλεια γίνεται Kal φαίνεται, ταῦτα μὴ εἶναι μέρη:
\
Bractavovta yap καὶ θάλλοντα Kal καρπὸν
” » / \ (/ \ A
EYOVTA πάντα καλλίω Kal τελειότερα καὶ δοκεῖ
\ Μ « \ s b] 4 , δὶ
καὶ ἔστιν. αἱ μὲν οὖν ἀπορίαι σχεδόν εἰσιν
αὗται.
ες , /
Taya δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως ἅπαντω ξητητέον οὔτε
» a Μ 7 4» “ \ \ /
ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὔθ᾽ ὅσα πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν,
ΕῚ 7 \ 4 / / \
αὐτά τε τὰ γεννώμενα μέρη θετέον οἷον τοὺς
΄ OX \ \ Μ a , ᾽
καρπούς. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὰ ἔμβρυα τῶν ζώων. εἰ
δὲ ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ὄψει τοῦτό γε κάλλιστον,
1 2,6. the male inflorescence of some trees; the term is
of course wider than ‘ catkin.’
4 4.¢. flower, catkin, leaf, fruit, shoot.
4
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. τ. 2-ὸῈ
—permanent, that is, unless it be lost by disease, age
or mutilation. However some of the parts of plants
are such that their existence is limited to a year, for
instance, flower, ‘ catkin,’! leaf, fruit, in fact all
those parts which are antecedent to the fruit or else
appear along with it. Also the new shoot itself must
be included with these; for trees always make fresh
growth every year alike in the parts above ground
and in those which pertain to the roots. So that if
one sets these 2 down as ‘ parts, the number of parts
will be indeterminate and constantly changing ;
if on the other hand these are not to be called
‘parts,’ the result will be that things which are
essential if the plant is to reach its perfection, and
which are its conspicuous features, are nevertheless
not ‘parts’; for any plant always appears to be, as
indeed it is, more comely and more perfect when it
makes new growth, blooms, and bears fruit. Such,
we may say, are the difficulties involved in defining
a § part.’
But perhaps we should not expect to find in
plants a complete correspondence with animals
in regard to those things which concern repro-
duction any more than in other respects; and so
we should reckon as ‘parts’ even those things
to which the plant gives birth, for instance their
fruits, although *? we do not so reckon the unborn
young of animals. (However, if such 6 a product seems
fairest to the eye, because the plant is then in its
prime, we can draw no inference from this in
3 οὐδὲ γὰρ : οὐδὲ seems to mean no more than οὐ (cf. neque
enim=non enim) ; γὰρ refers back to the beginning of the ὃ.
4 ἐν τῇ Spa ὄψει τοῦτό ye I conj.; τῇ ὥρᾳ ὄψει τό γε vulg.
W.; τοῦτο, t.e. flower or fruit.
5
THEOPHRASTUS
2Q\ A > \ \ a , b a x
οὐδὲν σημεῖον, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ζώων εὐθενεῖ τὰ
/
κύοντα.
XN ’ ’ \
Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τὰ μέρη κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἀπο-
΄ / “ » \ / \
βάλλει, καθάπερ οἱ τε ἔλαφοι τὰ κέρατα καὶ
ἡ \ Ἂν \ fd ΄
τὰ φωλεύοντα τὰ πτερὰ καὶ τρίχας τετράποδα"
“ 2 »>Q\ » ” \ es a a
ὥστ᾽ οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἄλλως TE καὶ ὅμοιον ὃν TO
val \ /
φυλλοβολεῖν τὸ πάθος.
€ 7, ἵν AC \ \ \ ,ὔ 5 \ \
Ὡσαύτως δ᾽ οὐδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν" ἐπεὶ Kal
Taal XY \ , \ »
ἐν τοῖς ζώοις τὰ μὲν συνεκτίκτεται τὰ δ᾽ ἀπο-
͵ , ἢ , a ΄ὕ ”
καθαίρεται καθάπερ ἀλλότρια τῆς φύσεως. ἔοικε
, \ \ \ \ /
δὲ παραπλησίως Kal Ta περὶ THY βλάστησιν
A /
ἔχειν. ἡ yap τοι βλάστησις γενέσεως χάριν ἐστὶ
n ,
τῆς τελειας.
\
Ὅλως δὲ καθάπερ εἴπομεν οὐδὲ πάντα
- , AP 9 TN ζω ΄ / x A \ ¢
ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων ληπτέον. δι᾽ ὃ Kal ὁ
x died a \ \
ἀριθμὸς ἀόριστος: πανταχῆ yap βλαστητικὸν
. rn “ [7 fal \
ἅτε καὶ πανταχῆ ζῶν. ὥστε ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως
ς / 3 / ’ \ a ᾽ \ \ al
ὑποληπτέον οὐ μόνον εἰς τῶ VUY AANA καὶ τῶν
/ / “ ἣν \ al >
μελλόντων χάριν: ὅσα yap μὴ οἷόν τε ado-
a , \ / 7
μοιοῦν περίεργον TO γλίχεσθαι πάντως, ἵνα μὴ
\ \ ᾽ td Ἢ / / « \
καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀποβάλλωμεν θεωρίαν. ἡ δὲ
/ a a lal > a a
ἱστορία τῶν φυτῶν ἐστιν WS ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἢ KATA
1 εὐθενεῖ conj. Sch., εὐθετεῖ UMVAId. 16. we do not
argue from the fact that animals are at their handsomest
in the breeding season that the young is therefore ‘part’ of
the animal.
2 Lit. ‘which are in holes,’ in allusion to the well-known
belief that animals (especially birds) which are out of sight
in the winter are hiding in holes; the text is supported by
[Arist.] de plantis 1. 3, the author of which had evidently
read this passage ; but possibly some such words as τάς τε
φολίδας καὶ have dropped out after φωλεύοντα.
6
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 3-4
support of our argument, since even among animals
those that are with young are at their best.1)
Again many plants shed their parts every year,
even as stags shed their horns, birds which hiber-
nate? their feathers, four-footed beasts their hair :
so that it is not strange that the parts of plants
should not be permanent, especially as what thus
occurs in animals and the shedding of leaves in
plants are analogous processes.
In like manner the parts concerned with repro-
duction are not permanent in plants; for even
in animals there are things which are separated
from the parent when the young is born, and
there are other things? which are cleansed away,
as though neither of these belonged to the animal’s
essential nature. And so too it appears to be with
the growth of plants; for of course growth leads up
to reproduction as the completion of the process.
And in general, as we have said, we must not assume
that in all respects there is complete correspondence
between plants and animals. And that is why the
number also of parts is indeterminate ; for a plant has
the power of growth in all its parts, inasmuch as it
has life in allits parts. Wherefore we should assume
the truth to be as I have said, not only in regard to
the matters now before us, but in view also of those
which will come before us presently ; for it is waste
of time to take great pains to make comparisons
where that is impossible, and in so doing we may
lose sight also of our proper subject of enquiry.
The enquiry into plants, to put it generally, may
3 2,6. the embryo is not the only thing derived from the
parent animal which is not a ‘ part’ of it; there is also the
ised supply ἘΠ ἢ with the young, and the after-birth.
a Che Corn
THEOPHRASTUS
\ Μ , \ \ μέ \ a \ \
τὰ ἔξω μόρια Kal THY ὅλην μορφὴν ἢ κατὰ τὰ
/ [4 > \ A“ ᾿ \ lal “
ἐντὸς, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἀνατομῶν.
/ 3 a a an
Ληπτέον δ᾽ ἐν αὐτοῖς ποῖά τε πᾶσιν ὑπάρχει
Sree N \ lal ” a) re / ” \
ταὐτὰ Kat ποῖα ἴδια καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γένος, ἔτι δὲ
- > “ “Ὁ Ψ / ’
TOV αὐτῶν ποῖα ὅμοια' λέγω δ᾽ οἷον φύλλον pita
, ᾽ a \ \ a
φλοιός. οὐ δεῖ δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο λανθάνειν εἴ TL κατ᾽
> / / “ SAX a ΄ \
ἀναλογίαν θεωρητέον, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων, τὴν
> \ (/ a ee \ \ >
ἀναφορὰν ποιουμένους δῆλον OTL πρὸς τὰ ἐμ-
, \ , \ 9 “ ee 4
φερέστατα καὶ τελειότατα. Kal ἁπλῶς δὲ ὅσα
a ΜΝ lal > , a > -“ , €
τῶν ἐν φυτοῖς ἀφομοιωτέον τῷ ἐν τοῖς ζώοις, ὡς
» ’ / 2a tr ’ a a N =
ἄν τίς τῴ γ᾽ ἀνάλογον ἀφομοιοῖ. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν
I \ ’ ΄“
διωρίσθω τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον.
e Ἁ lal A
Αἱ δὲ τῶν μερῶν διαφοραὶ σχεδὸν ὡς τύπῳ
cr ᾽ 2 / a A \ \ Μ
λαβεῖν εἰσιν ἐν τρισίν, ἢ τῷ τὰ μὲν ἔχειν
lal
\ \ ΄ὕ , fi \ , a
τὰ δὲ μή, καθάπερ φύλλα Kal καρπόν, ἢ TO
Ἁ «“ \ ” Ba , an \ ς /
μὴ ὅμοια μηδὲ ἴσα, ἢ τρίτον τῷ μὴ ὁμοίως.
’ \ € Ἂν » / e / /
τούτων δὲ ἡ μὲν ἀνομοιότης ὁρίζεται σχήματι
’ / / ’
χρώματι πυκνότητι μανότητι τραχύτητι λειότητι
καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πάθεσιν, ἔτι δὲ ὅσαι διαφοραὶ
“ “Ὁ / an
TOV χυλῶν. ἡ δὲ ἀνισότης ὑπεροχῇ Kal ἐλλείψει
κατὰ πλῆθος ἢ μέγεθος. ὡς δ᾽ εἰπεῖν τύπῳ
1 A very obscure sentence ; so W. renders the MSS. text.
2 2,6. ‘inequality’ might include ‘ unlikeness.’
8
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 4-6
either take account of the external parts and the
form of the plant generally, or else of their internal
parts: the latter method corresponds to the study of
animals by dissection.
Further we must consider which parts belong to
all plants alike, which are peculiar to some one
kind, and which of those which belong to all alike
are themselves alike in all cases; for instance, leaves
roots bark. And again, if in some cases analogy
ought to be considered (for instance, an analogy
presented by animals), we must keep this also in
view ; and in that case we must of course make the
closest resemblances and the most perfectly de-
veloped examples our standard; 1!and, finally, the
ways in which the parts of plants are affected must be
compared to the corresponding effects in the case of
animals, so far as one can in any given case find an
analogy for comparison. So let these definitions
stand.
The essential parts of plants, and the materials of which
they are made.
Now the differences in regard to parts, to take
a general view, are of three kinds: either one plant
may possess them and another not (for instance,
leaves and fruit), or in one plant they may be unlike
in appearance or size to those of another, or, thirdly,
they may be differently arranged. Now the unlike-
ness between them is seen in form, colour, closeness of
arrangement or its opposite, roughness or its opposite,
and the other qualities; and again there are the
various differences of flavour. The inequality is seen
in excess or defect as to number or size, or, to speak
generally, ?all the above-mentioned differences too
9
9
THEOPHRASTUS
a ’ » \
κἀκεῖνα πάντα καθ᾽ ὑπεροχὴν καὶ ἔλλειψιν" TO
\ a Ss \ ’
yap μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον ὑπεροχὴ καὶ ἔλλειψις": TO
\ Vo , a / ih / 3) e \
δὲ μὴ ὁμοίως τῇ θέσει διαφέρει: λέγω δ᾽ οἷον τὸ
\ \ a
τοὺς καρποὺς τὰ μὲν ἐπάνω τὰ δ᾽ ὑποκάτω TOV
/ ” \ ᾽ a a / AS \ 3
φύλλων ἔχειν Kal αὐτοῦ Tov δένδρου τὰ μὲν ἐξ
», \ Nie) n / ” \ Aj ess a
ἄκρου Ta δὲ ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων, ἔνια δὲ Kal ἐκ τοῦ
7 ι ἡ id ’ / / Ne ef, \
στελέχους, οἷον ἡ Αἰγυπτία συκάμινος, Kal ὅσα δὴ
an / \
Kal ὑπὸ γῆς φέρει καρπόν, οἷον ἥ TE ἀραχίδνα καὶ
“. > \
τὸ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καλούμενον οὔϊγγον, καὶ εἰ τὰ μὲν
» \ a / ¢ ,
ἔχει μίσχον τὰ δὲ μή. Kal ἐπὶ TOV ἀνθέων ὁμοίως:
Ν Ν \ \ > \ ἊΝ ‘ \ δὲ Vv
τὰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ αὐτὸν TOV καρπὸν τὰ δὲ ἄλλως.
δ a / a /
ὅλως δὲ TO τῆς θέσεως ἐν τούτοις Kal τοῖς φύλλοις
A 33 a an ,
καὶ ἐν τοῖς βλαστοῖς ληπτέον.
a \ \
Διαφέρει δὲ ἔνια καὶ τῇ τάξει: τὰ μὲν ws
a >] [ἐ al ’
ἔτυχε, τῆς δ᾽ ἐλάτης οἱ κλῶνες KAT ἀλλήλους
ε / a \ \ Ce st See \
ἑκατέρωθεν: τῶν δὲ καὶ οἱ ὄζοι δι’ ἴσου τε Kai
’ > lal /
κατ᾽ ἀριθμὸν ἴσοι, καθάπερ τῶν τριόζων.
\ \ /
“Ὥστε τὰς μὲν διαφορὰς ἐκ τούτων ληπτέον ἐξ
ka δ ΤΕ ier \ a 3. Ὁ
ὧν καὶ ἡ ὅλη μορφὴ συνδηλοῦται καθ᾽ ἕκαστον.
\ \ / 7,
Αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ μέρη διαριθμησαμένους πειρατέον
/ a
περὶ ἑκάστου λέγειν. ἔστι δὲ πρῶτα μὲν Kal
al /
μέγιστα καὶ κοινὰ τῶν πλείστων τάδε, pita
Ν » \ / ’ A / ᾽ yy
καυλὸς ἀκρεμὼν κλάδος, εἰς ἃ διέλοιτ᾽ ἄν τις
A) Ge SEY aes ol ee!
2 cf. 1. 6. 11. T. extends the term καρπός so as to
include any succulent edible part of a plant.
3 T. does not consider that καρπός was necessarily ante-
ceded by a flower.
Io
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. τ. 6-9
are included under excess and defect: for the ‘more’
and the ‘less’ are the same thing as excess and
defect, whereas ‘differently arranged’ implies a
difference of position; for instance, the fruit may
be above or below the leaves,! and, as to position on
the tree itself, the fruit may grow on the apex of it
or on the side branches, and in some cases even on
the trunk, as in the sycamore; while some plants
again even bear their fruit underground, for in-
stance arakhidna® and the plant called in Egypt
uingon ; again in some plants the fruit has a stalk, in
some it has none. There is a like difference in the
floral organs: in some cases they actually surround
the fruit, in others they are differently placed®: in
fact it is in regard to the fruit, the leaves, and the shoots
that the question of position has to be considered.
Or again there are differences as to symmetry ?#:
in some cases the arrangement is irregular, while the
branches of the silver-fir are arranged opposite one
another; and in some cases the branches are at
equal distances apart, and correspond in number, as
where they are in three rows.®
Wherefore the differences between plants must
be observed in these particulars, since taken together
they shew forth the general character of each plant.
But, before we attempt to speak about each, we
must make a list of the parts themselves. Now the
primary and most important parts, which are also
common to most, are these—root, stem, branch, twig ;
these are the parts into which we might divide the
plant, regarding them as members,® corresponding to
2 Pine G22. 5.2.6. ternate.
6 7.e. if we wished to make an anatomical division. μέλη
conj. Sch. cf. 1.2.73 μέρη Ald.
II
10
11
THEOPHRASTUS
“ἤ ᾽ lé / > \ Lal , “ ,
ὥσπερ εἰς μέλη, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων. ἕκαστόι
id eC
τε yap ἀνόμοιον καὶ ἐξ ἁπάντων τούτων τὰ ὅλα.
dy δὲ C7, \ ὃ 2 ae \ \ > ’ὔ
ott δὲ ῥίζα μὲν δι’ οὗ τὴν τροφὴν ἐπάγεται,
ὃ / \
καυλὸς δὲ εἰς ὃ φέρεται. καυλὸν δὲ λέγω τὸ ὑπὲρ
a » δ Te “-“ \ / «
γῆς πεφυκὸς ἐφ᾽ ἕν: τοῦτο γὰρ κοινότατον ὁμοίως
/ , aA a
ἐπετείοις καὶ γχρονίοις, ὃ ἐπὶ τῶν δένδρων
lal / / ᾽ \
καλεῖται στέλεχος: ἀκρεμόνας δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ
/ ay y n 3
τούτου σχιζομένους, ovs ἔνιοι καλοῦσιν ὄζους.
\ \ iA \
κλάδον δὲ τὸ βλάστημα TO ἐκ τούτων ἐφ᾽ ἕν, οἷον
Ν /
μάλιστα TO ἐπέτειον.
a Ἢ fa)
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οἰκειότερα τῶν δένδρων.
,
ὁ δὲ καυλός, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, κοινότερος" ἔχει
δὲ οὐ πάντα οὐδὲ τοῦτον, οἷον ἔνια τῶν ποιω-
n \ ‘ ᾽
δῶν. τὰ δ᾽ ἔχει μὲν οὐκ ἀεὶ δὲ GAN ἐπέτειον,
A “ / “ δι “ \
καὶ ὅσα χρονιώτερα ταῖς ῥίζαις. ὅλως δὲ
/ ἊΝ sy \ / \ \
πολύχουν TO φυτὸν καὶ ποικίλον καὶ χαλεπὸν
> a / a δὲ \ \ 3 \
εἰπεῖν καθόλου: σημεῖον δὲ TO μηδὲν εἶναι κοινὸν
Qn A a e / Vs “Ὁ Ψ
λαβεῖν ὃ πᾶσιν ὑπάρχει, καθώπερ τοῖς ζώοις
/ \ / \ \ ? , ᾽ \ Ἂν ’
στόμα Kal κοιλία. τὰ δὲ ἀναλογίᾳ ταὐτὰ τὰ ὃ
”. 7 \ ev / Si SV, 7
ἄλλον τρόπον. οὔτε yap ῥίζαν πάντ᾽ ἔχει οὔτε καυ-
Ul
λὸν οὔτε ἀκρεμόνα οὔτε κλάδον οὔτε φύλλον οὔτε
» BA \ CAs 4 Ἂ a / Ae a
ἄνθος οὔτε καρπὸν οὔτ᾽ αὖ φλοιὸν ἢ μήτραν ἢ ἶνας ἢ
7 - ’ Ὁ ? ΄ Ὧν ΤῸ 3.
φλέβας, οἷον μύκης ὕδνον' ἐν τούτοις δὲ ἡ οὐσία
καὶ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀλλὰ μάλιστα ταῦτα
1 2,6. before it begins to divide. 2 Or ‘ knots.’
3 ἐφ᾽ conj. W.; ὑφ᾽ P,P,Ald.
4 χρονιώτερα conj. Sch.; χρονιώτερον Ald.H
5 ἀναλογίᾳ conj. Sch. ; ἀναλογία UAld. H.
[2
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 9-11
the members of animals: for each of these is distinct
in character from the rest, and together they make
up the whole.
The root is that by which the plant draws its
nourishment, the stem that to which it is con-
ducted. And by the ‘stem’ I mean that part
which grows above ground and is single!; for that
is the part which occurs most generally both in
annuals and in long-lived plants; and in the case
of trees it is called the ‘trunk.’ By ‘branches’
I mean the parts which split off from the stem and
are called by some ‘boughs.’? By ‘twig’ I mean
the growth which springs from the branch regarded
as a single whole,? and especially such an annual
growth.
Now these parts belong more particularly to
trees. The stem however, as has been said, is more
general, though not all plants possess even this,
for instance, some herbaceous plants are stemless;
others again have it, not permanently, but as an
annual growth, including some whose roots live beyond
the year.* In fact your plant is a thing various and
manifold, and so it is difficult to describe in general
terms: in proof whereof we have the fact that we
cannot here seize on any universal character which
is common to all, as a mouth and a stomach are com-
mon toall animals ; whereas in plants some characters
are the same in all, merely in the sense that all
have analogous ® characters, while others correspond
otherwise. For not all plants have root, stem, branch,
twig, leaf, flower or fruit, or again bark, core, fibres
or veins; for instance, fungi and truffles; and yet
these and such like characters belong to a plant’s
essential nature. However, as has been said, these
13
THEOPHRASTUS
ὑπιίρχει, καθάπερ εἴρηται, τοῖς δένδροις κἀκεινων
οἰκειότερος ὁ μερισμός. πρὸς ἃ καὶ τὴν ἀναφορὰν
τῶν ἄλλων ποιεῖσθαι δίκαιον.
\ 7 \
Σχεδὸν δὲ Kal Tas ἄλλας μορφὰς ἑκάστων
n fe AS an
ταῦτα διασημαίνει. διαφέρουσι yap πλήθει τῷ
΄ /
τούτων καὶ ὀλιγότητι Kal πυκνότητι καὶ pavo-
\ a > , a xX 3 / / \
τητι Kal TO Eh ἕν ἢ εἰς πλείω σχίζεσθαι καὶ
nr a [4 4 δ nr
τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ὁμοίοις. ἔστι δὲ ἕκαστον τῶν
€ / / \ e
εἰρημένων οὐχ ὁμοιομερές" λέγω δὲ οὐχ ὁμοιο-
εξ al “ \ € lal
μερὲς OTL ἐκ TOV αὐτῶν μὲν ὁτιοῦν μέρος σύγς-
a e/ \ r / > ’ >
KeLTaL THS ῥίζης Kal τοῦ. στελέχους, GAN ov
/ ἊΝ \ N
λέγεται στέλεχος TO ληφθὲν ἀλλὰ μόριον, ὡς
lal lal / “ a
ἐν τοῖς TOV ζώων μέλεσίν ἐστιν. ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν μὲν
id lal rn 7 XN Qn “
γὰρ ὁτιοῦν τῆς κνήμης ἢ τοῦ ἀγκῶνος, οὐχ
ξ ’ XN / \ \ > n > .
ὁμώνυμον δὲ καθάπερ σὰρξ καὶ ὀστοῦν, ἀλλ
> / »O\ \ a ” > \ Ὁ“
ἀνώνυμον" οὐδὲ δὴ τῶν ἄλλων οὐδενὸς ὅσα μονο-
nr lal n A n
ειἰδῆ τῶν ὀργανικῶν: ἁπάντων γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων
Ν / a lal
ἀνώνυμα Ta μέρη. τῶν δὲ πολυειδῶν ὠνομασμένα
/ Ν Ν aA a /
καθάπερ ποδὸς χειρὸς κεφαλῆς, οἷον δάκτυλος
ev ’ / x XN \ / / ἣς
ῥὶς ὀφθαλμός. καὶ τὰ μὲν μέγιστα μέρη σχεδὸν
ταῦτά ἐστιν.
” Nee φ a \
Andra δὲ ἐξ ὧν ταῦτα φλοιὸς ξύλον μήτρα,
/ e an
ὅσα ἔχει μήτραν. πάντα δ᾽ ὁμοιομερῆ. καὶ τὰ
\ / 3, 3 e “
τούτων δὲ ἔτι πρότερα καὶ ἐξ ὧν ταῦτα, ὑγρὸν is
—
1 There 1s no exact English equivalent for ὁμοιομερές,
which denotes a whole composed of parts, each of which is,
as it were, a miniature of the whole. cf. Arist. H.A. 1. 1.
2.2.6. any part taken of flesh or bone may be called
‘ flesh’ or ‘ bone.’
6.9 MAES OF 5 ihe ards 4 e.g. fruit.
τῇ
ENQUIRY GINTO JPEANTS. Τὸ τ 111. 1
characters belong especially to trees, and our
classification of characters belongs more particularly
to these ; and it is right to make these the standard
in treating of the others.
Trees moreover shew forth fairly well the other
features also which distinguish plants; for they exhibit
differences in the number or fewness of these which
they possess, as to the closeness or openness of their
growth, as to their being single or divided, and in
other like respects. Moreover each of the characters
mentioned is not ‘composed of like parts’!; by
which I mean that though any given part of the root
or trunk is composed of the same elements as the
whole, yet the part so taken is not itself called
‘trunk,’ but ‘a portion of a trunk.’ The case is the
same with the members of an animal’s body; to
wit, any part of the leg or arm is composed of the
same elements as the whole, yet it does not bear the
same name (as it does in the case of flesh or bone *) ;
it has no special name. Nor again have subdivisions
of any of those other organic parts* which are uniform
special names, subdivisions of all such being nameless.
But the subdivisions of those parts? which are
compound have names, as have those of the foot,
hand, and head, for instance, toe, finger, nose or eye.
Such then are the largest ὃ parts of the plant.
IJ. Again there are the things of which such parts
are composed, namely bark, wood, and core (in the
case of those plants which have it®), and these are
all ‘composed of like parts.’ Further there are
the things which are even prior to these, from which
5 4.e. the ‘ compound’ parts.
6 ξύλον μήτρα conj. W. from G. μήτρα ξύλον MSS.
ξύλον, ὅσα conj. W.; ξύλα, ἢ ὅσα Ald. H.
18
THEOPHRASTUS
Nex / ’ \ 2 \ 7 ,
φλὲψ σάρξ' ἀρχαὶ γὰρ αὗται" πλὴν εἴ τις λέγοι
\ “ / τ
τὰς τῶν στοιχείων δυνάμεις, αὗται δὲ κοιναὶ πάν-
ι Ν φ > ’ὔ Ἁ ΕΥ̓͂ fy > Be
των. ἡ μὲν οὖν οὐσία Kal ἡ ὅλη φύσις ἐν τούτοις.
ν δ᾽ > \ “ > / / \ Ν
Αλλα δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥσπερ ἐπέτεια μέρη τὰ πρὸς
Ἁ , τῷ ,, A /
τὴν καρποτοκίαν, οἷον φύλλον ἄνθος μίσχος"
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν ᾧ συνήρτηται πρὸς τὸ φυτὸν τὸ
e [ , J
φύλλον καὶ ὁ καρπός: ἔτι δὲ [ἕλιξ] βρύον, οἷς
a , “ fal
ὑπάρχει, Kal ἐπὶ πᾶσι σπέρμα TO τοῦ καρποῦ"
> . an
καρπὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶ τὸ συγκείμενον σπέρμα μετὰ TOD
an ’,
περικαρπίου. παρὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐνίων ἴδια ἄττα,
4 ς \ XN Ne. >’ /
καθάπερ ἡ κηκὶς δρυὸς καὶ ἡ ἕλιξ ἀμπέλου.
a \ IZ ” c a
Καὶ τοῖς μὲν δένδρεσιν ἔστιν οὕτως διαλαβεῖν.
a / fol
τοῖς δ᾽ ἐπετείοις δῆλον ὡς ἅπαντα ἐπέτεια"
μέχρι γὰρ τῶν καρπῶν ἡ φύσις. ὅσα δὴ ἐπετειό-
AL Ti / / XS of ᾽
καρπα καὶ ὅσα διετίξει, καθάπερ σέλινον καὶ ἄλλ
> \ , /
ἄττα, καὶ ὅσα δὲ πλείω χρόνον ἔχει, τούτοις
[Ὡ Ν ς \ > / \ ,
ἅπασι καὶ ὁ καυλὸς ἀκολουθήσει κατὰ λόγον."
Y a / “
ὅταν γὰρ σπερμοφορεῖν μέλλωσι, τότε ἐκκαυλοῦ-
σιν, ὡς ἕνεκα τοῦ σπέρματος ὄντων τῶν καυλῶν.
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ διηρήσθω. τῶν δὲ ἄρτι
“ , a
εἰρημένων μερῶν πειρατέον ἕκαστον εἰπεῖν τί
ἐστιν ὡς ἐν τύπῳ λέγοντας.
ἣν \ 7 e \ , A \ a ,
To μὲν οὖν ὑγρὸν φανερόν: ὃ δὴ καλοῦσί τινες
΄ “" lé “
ἀπλῶς ἐν ἅπασιν ὁπόν, ὥσπερ καὶ Μενέστωρ, οἱ
1 οὐσία conj. Sch. (but he retracted it); συνουσία MSS. (?)
Ald.
2 This definition is quoted by Hesych. s.v. μίσχος.
3 20m. ἕλιξ, which is mentioned below.
4 τὸ συγκείμενον σπέρμα, lit. ‘the compound seed,’ t.e. as
many seeds as are contained in one περικάρπιον.
16
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 1-3
they are derived—-sap, fibre, veins, flesh: for these
are elementary substances—unless one should prefer
to call them the active principles of the elements ;
and they are common to all the parts of the plant.
Thus the essence! and entire material of plants
consist in these.
Again there are other as it were annual parts,
which help towards the production of the fruit, as
leaf, flower, stalk (that is, the part by which the
leaf and the fruit are attached to the plant),? and
again tendril,? ‘catkin’ (in those plants that have
them). And in all cases there is the seed which
belongs to the fruit: by ‘fruit’ is meant the seed
or seeds,* together with the seed-vessel. Besides
these there are in some cases peculiar parts, such
as the gall in the oak, or the tendril in the vine.
In the case of trees we may thus distinguish the
annual parts, while it is plain that in annual plants all
the parts are annual: for the end of their being is
attained when the fruit is produced. And with
those plants which bear fruit annually, those which
take two years (such as celery and certain others 5)
and those which have fruit on them for a longer time
—with all these the stem will correspond to the
vlant’s length of life: for plants develop a stem at
whatever time they are about to bear seed, seeing
that the stem exists for the sake of the seed.
Let this suffice for the definition of these parts :
and now we must endeavour to say what each of the
parts just mentioned is, giving a general and typical
description.
The sap is obvious: some call it simply in all cases
‘juice, as does Menestor® among others: others, in
>of. 7.1.2and3. © A Pythagorean philosopher of Sybaris.
17
THEOPHRASTUS
ppt) \ a ” ᾽ ΄, 2 , ’ \
δ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνωνύμως ἐν δέ τισιν ὀπὸν
,,
καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις δάκρυον. ives δὲ καὶ φλέβες καθ᾽
X “ G ,
αὑτὰ μὲν ἀνώνυμα τῇ δὲ ὁμοιότητι μεταλαμβά-
a a /
νουσε τῶν ἐν τοῖς ζώοις μορίων. ἔχει δὲ ἴσως
Ν \ \ a Nee \ -
καὶ ἄλλας διαφορὰς καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ὅλως τὸ τῶν
φυτῶν γένος: πολύχουν γὰρ ὥσπερ εἰρήκαμεν.
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ διὰ τῶν γνωριμωτέρων μεταδιώκειν δεῖ
\ \ fe
τὰ ἀγνώριστα, γνωριμώτερα δὲ τὰ μείζω Kal ἐμ-
φανῆ τῇ αἰσθήσει, δῆλον ὅτι καθάπερ ὑφήγηται
/
περὶ τούτων λεκτέον: ἐπαναφορὰν yap ἕξομεν
τῶν ἄλλων πρὸς ταῦτα μέχρι πόσου καὶ πῶς
a c , \
ἕκαστα μετέχει τῆς ὁμοιότητος. εἰλημμένων δὲ
τῶν μερῶν μετὰ ταῦτα ληπτέον τὰς τούτων
"Ἢ , \
διαφοράς: οὕτως γὰρ ἅμα Kal ἡ οὐσία φανερὰ
\ Ca Lal “ ἣν » /
Kal ἡ ὅλη TOV γενῶν πρὸς ἄλληλα διάστασις.
Ἡ μὲν οὖν τῶν μεγίστων σχεδὸν εἴρηται: λέγω
’ -ε ἰὴ a a ” ς Ν /
δ᾽ οἷον ῥίζης καυλοῦ τῶν ἄλλων" αἱ yap δυνάμεις
καὶ ὧν χάριν ἕκαστον ὕστερον ῥηθήσονται. ἐξ
e a \
ὧν yap καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σύγκειται
a / \ a
πειρατέον εἰπεῖν ἀρξαμένους ἀπὸ TOY πρώτων.
a \
Πρῶτα δέ ἐστι τὸ ὑγρὸν καὶ θερμόν" ἅπαν yap
᾿ς
φυτὸν ἔχει τινὰ ὑγρότητα καὶ θερμότητα σύμ-
\ a
φυτον ὥσπερ Kal ζῶον, ὧν ὑπολειπόντων γίνεται
a \ ὔ ’ \ oe , ,
γῆρας καὶ φθίσις, τελείως δὲ ὑπολιπόντων θάνα-
τος καὶ αὔανσις. ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς πλείστοις ἀνώ-
1 Lit. ‘ muscles and veins.’
2 2,6. the analogy with animals is probably imperfect, but
is useful so far as it goes.
Σ᾿ lO: 4 e.g. the root, as such.
5 e.g. the different forms which roots assume.
18
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 3-5
the case of some plants give it no special name, while
in some they call it ‘juice,’ and in others ‘gum.’
Fibre and ‘ veins’! have no special names in relation
to plants, but, because of the resemblance, borrow
the names of the corresponding parts of animals. ? It
may be however that, not only these things, but the
world of plants generally, exhibits also other differ-
ences as compared with animals: for, as we have
said,? the world of plants is manifold. However,
since it is by the help of the better known that we
must pursue the unknown, and better known are the
things which are larger and plainer to our senses,
it is clear that it is right to speak of these things in
the way indicated: for then in dealing with the
less known things we shall be making these better
known things our standard, and shall ask how far and
in what manner comparison is possible in each case.
And when we have taken the parts,4 we must next
take the differences which they exhibit,> for thus
will their essential nature become plain, and at the
same time the general differences between one kind
of plant and another.
Now the nature of the most important parts has
been indicated already, that is, such parts as the
root, the stem, and the rest: their functions and the
reasons for which each of them exists will be set forth
presently. For we must endeavour to state of what
these, as well as the rest, are composed, starting from
their elementary constituents.
First come moisture and warmth : for every plant,
like every animal, has a certain amount of moisture
and warmth which essentially belong to it; and, if
these fall short, age and decay, le if they fail
altogether, death and witheri ing ensue. Now in
19
THEOPHRASTUS
U ᾽ 7, ΄ ΄
νυμος ἡ ὑγρότης, ἐν ἐνίοις δὲ ὠνομασμένη καθάπερ
\ a
εἴρηται. τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ Kal ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων ὑπάρχει:
\ e a /
μόνη yap ἡ τῶν ἐναίμων ὑγρότης ὠνόμασται, Ov
, rn
ὃ καὶ διήρηται πρὸς τοῦτο στερήσει" τὰ μὲν γὰρ
\ >» / fal
ἄναιμα τὰ δ᾽ ἔναιμα λέγεται. ἕν TL μὲν οὖν τοῦτο
τὸ μέρος καὶ τὸ τούτῳ συνηρτημένον θερμόν.
᾽ la)
ἼΛλλα δ᾽ ἤδη ἕτερα τῶν ἐντός, ἃ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰ μέν
\ \ e
ἐστιν ἀνώνυμα, διὰ δὲ τὴν ὁμοιότητα ἀπεικάζεται
a lal , \ 7
τοῖς τῶν ζώων μορίοις. ἔχουσι yap ὥσπερ ivas:
΄ 7,
6 ἐστι συνεχὲς καὶ σχιστὸν καὶ ἐπίμηκες, ἀπαρά-
βλαστον δὲ καὶ ἄβλαστον. ἔτι δὲ φλέβας. αὗται
\ \ \ BA 3. τὴν 7 a ST, / \ \
δὲ Ta μὲν ἄλλα εἰσὶν ὅμοιαι TH ivi, μείζους δὲ Kal
παχύτεραι Kal παραβλάστας ἔχουσαι καὶ ὑγρό-
» ΙΑ \ / \ \ \ Μ᾿
τητα. ἔτι ξύλον καὶ σάρξ. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει
4 Ni \ / ” \ \ \ 4
σάρκα Ta δὲ ξύλον. ἔστι δὲ TO μὲν ξύλον σχισ-
x nr - n
τόν, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ πάντη διαιρεῖται ὥσπερ γῆ Kal
.“ “ \ \ , + abe, | \ /
ὅσα γῆς" μεταξὺ δὲ γίνεται ἰνὸς καὶ φλεβός"
\ Wink ΄ >A b ” % os a
φανερὰ δὲ ἡ φύσις αὐτῆς ἐν ἄλλοις TE καὶ ἐν τοῖς
τῶν περικαρπίων δέρμασι. φλοιὸς δὲ καὶ μήτρα
, \ / ‘al \ bf \ \ a /
κυρίως μὲν λέγεται, δεῖ δὲ αὐτὰ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ
διορίσαι. φλοιὸς μὲν οὖν ἐστι τὸ ἔσχατον καὶ
fa! Ἄ, /
χωριστὸν TOD ὑποκειμένου σώματος. μήτρα δὲ
\ \ “ / , b Ν a “ a
τὸ μεταξὺ Tov ξύλου, TpLTOV ἀπὸ τοῦ φλοιοῦ οἷον
an a / a fal
ἐν τοῖς ὀστοῖς μυελός. καλοῦσι δέ τινες τοῦτο
1 πλείστοις conj. Mold.; πρώτοις Ald. H. 3.1.7 5
8. ἀπαράβλαστον conj. R.Const.; ἀπαράβλητον UMVAId.
4 ἔτι δὲ conj. W.; ἔχον Ald. 6 Fibre.
δ 2,6. can be split in one direction.
7 e.g. an unripe walnut.
20
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 5-6
most ! plants the moisture has no special name, but
in some it has such a name, as has been said 2: and
this also holds good of animals: for it is only the
moisture of those which have blood which has
received a name ; wherefore we distinguish animals
by the presence or absence of blood, calling some
‘animals with blood,’ others ‘bloodless.’ Moisture
then is one essential ‘ part,’ and so is warmth, which
is closely connected with it.
There are also other internal characters, which in
themselves have no special name, but, because of
their resemblance, have names analogous to those of
the parts of animals. Thus plants have what
corresponds to muscle; and this quasi-muscle is
continuous, fissile, long: moreover no other growth
starts from it either branching from the side? or
in continuation of it. Again‘ plants have veins:
these in other respects resemble the ‘muscle,’ ° but
they are longer and thicker, and have side-growths
and contain moisture. Then there are wood and
flesh: for some plants have flesh, some wood. Wood
is fissile,©5 while flesh can be broken up in any
direction, like earth and things made of earth: it is
intermediate between fibre and veins, its nature being
clearly seen especially in the outer covering’ of
seed-vessels. Bark and core are properly so called,§
yet they too must be defined. Bark then is the
outside, and is separable from the substance which it
covers. Core is that which forms the middle of the
wood, being third® in order from the bark, and
corresponding to the marrow in bones. Some call this
part the ‘heart,’ others call it ‘heart-wood’ : some
8 j.e. not by analogy with animals, like ‘muscle,’ ‘ veins,’
‘ flesh.’ ® Reckoning inclusively.
21
THEOPHRASTUS
/ « ᾽ ᾽ , Μ \ Ν > ‘\ fel
καρδίαν, οἱ δ᾽ ἐντεριώνην" ἔνιοι δὲ TO ἐντὸς τῆς
an , e \ /
μήτρας αὐτῆς καρδίαν, ot δὲ μυελόν.
’ / lal
Ta μὲν οὖν μόρια σχεδόν ἐστι τοσαῦτα. σύγ-
a /
κειται δὲ τὰ ὕστερον ἐκ τῶν προτέρων: ξύλον
\ 2 “Ὁ ὃν Ae 1G “ ΝΣ / “
μὲν ἐξ ἰνὸς καὶ ὑγροῦ, καὶ ἔνια σαρκὸς" ξυλοῦται
/ Φ ᾿] al /
yap σκληρυνομένη, οἷον ἐν τοῖς φοίνιξι καὶ νάρ-
Ν ” ” > Lal “ € a
θηξι καὶ εἴ Te ἄλλο ἐκξυλοῦται, ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν
€ / «7s / δὲ 2 ς “ \ /
ῥαφανίδων ῥίζαι: μήτρα δὲ ἐξ ὑγροῦ καὶ σαρκός"
ς / a a «
φλοιὸς δὲ ὁ μέν τις ἐκ πάντων τῶν τριῶν, οἷον ὁ
a ἡ / na
τῆς δρυὸς καὶ αἰγείρου Kal ἀπίου: ὁ δὲ τῆς ap-
la) / «ς \ a a
πέλου ἐξ ὑγροῦ Kal ivos' ὁ δὲ τοῦ φελλοῦ ἐκ
al / \
σαρκὸς Kal ὑγροῦ. πάλιν δὲ ἐκ τούτων σύνθετα
/ A /
Ta μέγιστα καὶ πρῶτα ῥηθέντα καθαπερανεὶ
μέλη, πλὴν οὐκ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν πάντα οὐδὲ ὡσαύ-
Ν ,
τως ἀλλὰ διαφορως.
/ a , a
Εὐλημμένων δὲ πάντων τῶν μορίων ὡς εἰπεῖν
/ /
Tas τούτων διαφορὰς πειρατέον ἀποδιδόναι Kat
ε rn / “-“ ,
τὰς ὅλων τῶν δένδρων Kal φυτῶν οὐσίας.
/
Ill. "Evel δὲ συμβαίνει σαφεστέραν εἶναι τὴν
ΤΊ i ‘
μαδησιν διαιρουμένων κατὰ εἴδη, καλῶς ἔχει
τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἐφ᾽ ὧν ἐνδέχεται. πρῶτα δέ ἐστι
\ , \ \ ΠΥ: 7, 7x \
καὶ μέγιστα Kal σχεδὸν ὑφ᾽ ὧν πάντ᾽ ἢ τὰ
a / 4 / /
πλεῖστα περιέχεται τάδε, δένδρον θάμνος φρυ-
/
γανον πόα.
\ \ / /
Δένδρον μὲν οὖν ἐστι TO ἀπὸ ῥίζης μονοστέλεχες
φελλοῦ conj. H.; φύλλον UVP,PAld.; φυλλοῦ Μ.
1.6. root, stem, branch, twig: cf. 1. 1. 9.
σαφεστέραν con). Wess ag ae Ald.
εἴδη here = γένη ; Ch Ola ὃ τι
πάντ᾽ ἢ conj. Sch. after a ; πάντη UMVAId.
a ὦ ὁ Ὁ =
22
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. π΄. 6-11. 1
again call only the inner part ot the core itself
the ‘heart, while others distinguish this as the
‘marrow.’
Here then we have a fairly complete list of the
‘parts, and those last named are composed of the first
‘parts’; wood is made of fibre and sap, and in some
eases of flesh also; for the flesh hardens and turns to
wood, for instance in palms ferula and in other
plants in which a turning to wood takes place, as in
the roots of radishes. Core is made of moisture and
flesh: bark in some cases of all three constituents,
as in the oak black poplar and pear; while the
bark of the vine is made of sap and fibre, and that
of the cork-oak! of flesh and sap. Moreover out of
these constituents are made the most important
parts,? those which I mentioned first, and which may
be called ‘members’: however not all of them are
made of the same constituents, nor in the same
proportion, but the constituents are combined in
various ways.
Having now, we may say, taken all the parts, we
must endeavour to give the differences between them
and the essential characters of trees and plants taken
as wholes.
Definitions of the various classes into which plants may be
divided.
III. Now since our study becomes more illumin-
ating 5 if we distinguish different kinds,‘ it is well to
follow this plan where it is possible. The first and
most important classes, those which comprise all
or nearly all® plants, are tree, shrub, under-shrub,
herb.
A tree is a thing which springs from the root with
23
THEOPHRASTUS
πολύκλαδον ὀζωτὸν οὐκ εὐαπόλυτον, οἷον ἐλάα
συκῆ ἄμπελος: θάμνος δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης πολύ-
κλαδον, οἷον βάτος παλίουρος. φρύγανον δὲ τὸ
ἀπὸ ῥίζης πολυστέλεχες καὶ πολύκλαδον οἷον
καὶ θύμβρα καὶ πήγανον. πόα δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης
φυλλοφόρον προϊὸν ἀστέλεχες, οὗ ὁ καυλὸς σπερ-
popopos, οἷον ὁ ὁ σῖτος καὶ τὰ λάχανα.
Δεῖ δὲ τοὺς ὅρους οὕτως “ἀποδέχεσθαι καὶ λαμ-
βάνειν ὡς τύπῳ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν λεγομένους" ἔνια
γὰρ ἴσως ἐπαλλάττειν δόξειε, τὰ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τὴν
ἀγωγὴν ἀλλοιότερα γίνεσθαι καὶ ἐκβαίνειν TIS
φύσεως, οἷον μαλάχη τε εἰς ὕψος ἀναγομένη
καὶ ἀποδενδρουμένη: συμβαίνει γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ
οὐκ ἐν πολλῷ χρόνῳ ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἕξ ἢ ἑπτὰ μησὶν,
ὥστε μῆκος καὶ πάχος δορατιαῖον γίνεσθαι, δι᾽ ὃ
καὶ βακτηρίαις αὐταῖς χρώνται, πλείονος δὲ χρό-
νου γινομένου κατὰ λόγον ἡ ἀπόδοσις: ὁμοίως
δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τεύτλων' καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα λαμβάνει
μέγεθος" ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἄγνοι καὶ ὁ _Tadtoupos
Kal ὁ KIT TOS, ὥσθ᾽ ὁμολογουμένως ταῦτα γίνεται
δένδρα" καί τοι θαμνώδη γέ ἐστιν. ὁ δὲ βύρρινος
μὴ ἀνακαθαιρόμενος ἐκθαμνοῦται καὶ ἡ ἡρακλεω-
τικὴ καρύα. δοκεῖ δὲ αὕτη γε καὶ τὸν καρπὸν
βελτίω καὶ πλείω φέρειν ἐὰν ῥάβδους τις ἐᾷ
1 θάμνος. .. πήγανον. W.’s text transposes, without
alteration, the definitions of θάμνο- and φρύγανον as given
in U. φρύγανον δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης kal πολυστέλεχες Kal πολύκλαδον
οἷον βάτος παλίουρος, Ald. So also M, but with a lacuna
marked before φρύγανον and a note that the definition of
Oduvos is wanting. φρύγανον δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης καὶ πολυστέλεχες
καὶ πολύκλαδον οἷον καὶ γάμβρη καὶ πήγανον. θάμνος δὲ ἀπὸ ῥίζης
πολύκλαδον οἷον βάτος παλίουρος U. So also very nearly Pi Ps:
G gives to θάμνος (frutex) the definition assigned in U to
φρύγανον (suffrutex) and the other definition is wanting.
24
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I ut. 1-3
a single stem, having knots and several branches,
and it cannot easily be uprooted ; for instance, olive
fig vine. !A shrub is a thing which rises from the
root with many branches; for instance, bramble
Christ’s thorn. An under-shrub is a thing which
rises from the root with many stems as well as many
branches; for instance, savory? rue. A herb is a
thing which comes up from the root with its leaves
and has no main stem, and the seed is borne on the
stem ; for instance, corn and pot-herbs.
These definitions however must be taken and
accepted as applying generally and on the whole. For
in the case of some plants it might seem that our de-
finitions overlap; and some under cultivation appear
to become different and depart from their essential
nature, for instance, mallow? when it grows tall and
becomes tree-like, For this comes to pass in no long
time, not more than six or seven months, so that in
length and thickness the plant becomes as great as a
spear, and men accordingly use it as a walking-stick,
and after a longer period the result of cultivation is
proportionately greater. So too is it with the beets ;
they also increase in stature under cultivation, and so
still more do chaste-tree Christ’s thorn ivy, so that,
as is generally admitted, these become trees, and yet
they belong to the class of shrubs. On the other
hand the myrtle, unless it is pruned, turns into a
shrub, and so does filbert*: indeed this last appears
to bear better and more abundant fruit, if one leaves
Note that W.’s transposition gives cal... καὶ the proper
force; § 4 shews that the typical φρύγανον in T.’s view was
TOAVOTEAEXES.
2 θύμβρα conj. W.; γάμβνη MSS. But the first καὶ being
meaningless, W. also suggests σισύμβριον for καὶ γάμβρη.
3 of. Plin. 19. 62. def. eld. obs
25
THEOPHRASTUS
πλείους ὡς τῆς φύσεως θαμνώδους οὔσης. οὐ
μονοστέλεχες δ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν οὐδ᾽ ἡ μηλέα οὐδ᾽ ἡ
ῥοιὰ οὐδ᾽ ἡ ἄπιος εἶναι, οὐδ᾽ ὅλως ὅσα παραβλα-
στητικὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν ἀλλὰ τῇ ἀγωγῇ τοιαῦτα
παραιρουμένων τῶν ἄλλων. ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἐῶσι
πολυστελέχη διὰ λεπτότητα, καθάπερ ῥόαν
μηλέαν: ἐῶσι δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐλάας κοπάδας καὶ τὰς
συκᾶς.
Τάχα δ᾽ ἄν τις φαίη καὶ ὅλως μεγέθει καὶ μι-
κρότητι διαιρετέον εἶναι, τὰ δὲ ἰσχύϊ καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ
καὶ πολυχρονιότητι καὶ ὀλιγοχρονιότητι. τῶν τε
γὰρ φρυγανωδῶν καὶ λαχανωδῶν ἔνια μονο-
στελέχη καὶ οἷον δένδρου φύσιν ἔχοντα γίνεται,
καθάπερ ῥάφανος πήγανον, ὅθεν καὶ καλοῦσί
τίνες τὰ τοιαῦτα δενδρολάχανα, τά τε λαχανώδη
πάντα ἢ τὰ πλεῖστα ὅταν ἐγκαταμείνῃ λαμβάνει
τινὰς ὥσπερ ἀκρεμόνας καὶ γίνεται τὸ ὅλον ἐν
σχήματι δενδρώδει πλὴν ὀλιγοχρονιώτερα.
Διὰ δὴ ταῦτα ὥσπερ λέγομεν οὐκ ἀκριβολογὴη-
τέον τῷ ὅρῳ ἀλλὰ τῷ τύπῳ ληπτέον τοὺς
ἀφορισμούς: ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰς διαιρέσεις ὁμοίως, οἷον
ἡμέρων ἀγρίων, καρποφόρων ἀκάρπων, ἀνθοφόρων
ἀνανθῶν, ἀειφύλλων φυλλοβόλων. τὰ μὲν yap
ἄγρια καὶ ἥμερα παρὰ τὴν ἀγωγὴν εἶναι δοκεῖ"
πᾶν γὰρ καὶ ἄγριον καὶ ἥμερόν φησιν Ἵππων
γίνεσθαι τυγχάνον ἢ μὴ τυγχάνον θεραπείας.
1 2,6. so that the tree comes to look like a shrub from the
growth of fresh shoots after cutting. οἷ 2. 6.12; 2. 7. 2.
2 ῥάφανος conj. Bod. from ἃ ; ῥαφανὶς Ald.
3 cf. 3. 2. 2. The Ionian philosopher. See Zeller, Pre-
Socratic Philosophy (Eng. trans.), 1. 281 f.
4 καὶ add. W.; so G.
5 ἢ conj. Sch.; καὶ UAld.Cam. Bas. H.
26
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. πὶ. 3-5
a good many of its branches untouched, since it is by
nature like a shrub. Again neither the apple nor the
pomegranate nor the pear would seem to be a tree of
a single stem, nor indeed any of the trees which have
side stems from the roots, but they acquire the char-
acter of a tree when the other stems are removed.
However some trees men even leave with their
numerous stems because of their slenderness, for in-
stance, the pomegranate and the apple, and they
leave the stems of the olive and the fig cut short.!
Exact classification impracticable: other possible bases of
classification.
Indeed it might be suggested that we should
classify in some cases simply by size, and in some
cases by comparative robustness or length of life.
For of under-shrubs and those of the pot-herb
class some have only one stem and come as it were
to have the character of a tree, such as cabbage?
and rue: wherefore some call these ‘tree-herbs’; and
in fact all or most of the pot-herb class, when
they have been long in the ground, acquire a sort
of branches, and the whole plant comes to have a
tree-like shape, though it is shorter lived than a tree.
For these reasons then, as we are saying, one
must not make a too precise definition ; we should
make our definitions typical. For we must make
our distinctions too on the same principle, as
those between wild and cultivated plants, fruit-
bearing and fruitless, flowering and_ flowerless,
evergreen and deciduous. Thus the distinction
between wild and cultivated seems to be due
simply to cultivation, since, as Hippon?® remarks,
any plant may be either* wild or cultivated ac-
cording as it receives οὐ ὃ does not receive attention.
27
ir)
THEOPHRASTUS
ἄκαρπα δὲ καὶ κάρπιμα καὶ ἀνθοφόρα καὶ ἀνανθὴ
παρὰ τοὺς τόπους καὶ τὸν ἀέρα τὸν περιέχοντα"
τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ φυλλοβόλα καὶ ἀεί-
φυλλα. περὶ γὰρ λεφαντίνην οὐδὲ τὰς ἀμπέλους
οὐδὲ τὰς συκᾶς φασι φυλλοβολεῖν.
AX’ ὅμω τοιαῦτα διαιρετέον: ἔχει γάρ τι TH
os if Ken ye ms
φύσεως κοινὸν ὁμοίως ἐν δένδροις. καὶ θάμνοις καὶ
τοῖς φρυγανικοῖς καὶ ποιώδεσιν" ὑπὲρ ὧν καὶ τὰς
αἰτίας ὅταν τις λέγῃ περὶ πάντων κοινῇ δῆλον ὅ ὅτι
λεκτέον “οὐχ ὁρίζοντα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον' εὔλογον δὲ
καὶ ταύτας κοινὰς εἶναι πάντων. ἅμα δὲ καὶ
φαίνεταί τινα ἔχειν φυσικὴν διαφορὰν εὐθὺς ἐ ἐπὶ
τῶν ἀγρίων καὶ τῶν ἡμέρων, εἴπερ ἔνια μὴ δύνα-
ται ζῆν ὥσπερ τὰ γεωργούμενα μηδ᾽ ὅλως δέχεται
θεραπείαν ἀλλὰ χείρω γίνεται, καθάπερ ἐλάτη
πεύκη κήλαστρον καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅ ὅσα ψυχροὺς τόπους
φιλεῖ καὶ χιονώδεις, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τῶν φρυγανι-
κῶν καὶ ποιωδῶν, οἷον κάππαρις καὶ θέρμος.
ἥμερον δὲ καὶ ἄγριον δίκαιον καλεῖν ἀναφέροντα
πρός τε ταῦτα καὶ ὅλως πρὸς τὸ ἡμερώτατον" [ὑ
δ᾽ ἄνθρωπος ἢ μόνον ἢ μάλιστα ἥμερον.
Ing Pavepat δὲ Kal κατ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς μορφὰς αἱ
διαφοραὶ τῶν ὅλων τε καὶ μορίων, οἷον λέγω
1 ἀνθόφορα καὶ ἀνανθῆῇ conj. Sch. from G; καρπόφορα ἄνθη
P,Ald, ΞΟ: Obs Elin, 10: 91:
3 τοιαῦτα (600η]. W.; διαιρετέον conj. Sch.; τοῖς αὐτοῖς
αἱρετέον Ald. The sense seems to be: Though these
‘secondary’ distinctions are not entirely satisfactory, yet
(if we look to the causes of different characters), they are
indispensable, since they are due to causes which affect all
the four classes of our ‘ primary’ distinction.
4 ζ,6. we must take the extreme cases.
5 7.e. plants which entirely refuse cultivation.
28
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. ut. 5-1v. 1
Again the distinctions between fruitless and fruit-
bearing,! flowering and flowerless, seem to be due
to position and the climate of the district. And
so too with the distinction between deciduous and
evergreen. * Thus they say that in the district of
Elephantine neither vines nor figs lose their leaves.
Nevertheless we are bound to use such dis-
tinctions.2 For there is a certain common character
alike in trees, shrubs, under-shrubs, and _ herbs.
Wherefore, when one mentions the causes also,
one must take account of all alike, not giving
separate definitions for each class, it being reasonable
to suppose that the causes too are common to all.
And in fact there seems to be some natural difference
from the first in the case of wild and cultivated,
seeing that some plants cannot live under the
conditions of those grown in cultivated ground,
and do not submit to cultivation at all, but de-
teriorate under it; for instance, silver-fir fir holly,
and in general those which affect cold snowy
country; and the same is also true of some of the
under-shrubs and herbs, such as caper and lupin.
Now in using the terms ‘cultivated’ and ‘ wild’
4 we must make these® on the one hand our standard,
and on the other that which is in the truest sense °
‘cultivated. 7Now Man, if he is not the only
thing to which this name is strictly appropriate, is at
least that to which it most applies.
Differences as to appearance and habitat.
IV. Again the differences, both between the plants
as wholes and between their parts, may be seen in
6 ὅλως πρὸς Td. πρὸς Td ὅλως conj. St.
78 δ᾽ ἄνθρωπος. .. ἥμερον. I have bracketed this clause,
which seems to be an irrelevant gloss.
29
THEOPHRASTUS
\ / ΄ ,
μέγεθος καὶ μικρότης, σκληρότης μαλακότης,
,ὔ ΄“ 7 ral i
λειότης τραχύτης, φλοιοῦ φύλλων τῶν ἄλλων,
« a by / \ ὃ / » δὲ \
ἁπλῶς εὐμορφία καὶ δυσμορφία τις, ἔτι δὲ Kal
/ x / /
καλλικαρπία Kal κακοκαρπία. πλείω μὲν yap
a U / “ > \
δοκεῖ τὰ ἄγρια φέρειν, ὥσπερ ἀχρὰς κότινος, καλ-
« \ \
Aiw δὲ τὰ ἥμερα Kal τοὺς χυλοὺς δὲ αὐτοὺς
, , \ \ © a
γλυκυτέρους καὶ ἡδίους Kal TO ὅλον ὡς εἰπεῖν
εὐκράτους μᾶλλον.
Φ' ΄, \ ’ “
Αὑταί τε δὴ φυσικαί τινες ὥσπερ εἴρηται δια-
7 \ ἴω “ > /
φοραΐ, καὶ ἔτι δὴ μᾶλλον τῶν ἀκάρπων Kal καρπο-
φόρων καὶ φυλλοβόλων καὶ ἀειφύλλων καὶ ὅσα
” = , \ ΄ δ. \ \
ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. πάντων δὲ ληπτέον ἀεὶ καὶ TAS
\ / > \ 799 /
κατὰ τοὺς τόπους: οὐ yap οὐδ᾽ οἷόν τε ἴσως
», ς \ a / Xv ,
ἄλλως. αἱ δὲ τοιαῦται δόξαιεν ἂν γενικόν τινα
na , - / /
ποιεῖν χωρισμόν, οἷον ἐνύδρων Kal χερσαίων, ὥσπερ
fal / yi 7 a nr
ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων. ἔστι yap ἔνια τῶν φυτῶν ἃ οὐ
Wi \ b ἷς a a ὃ / A bP ’
δύναται μὴ ἐν ὑγρῷ ζῆν' διήρηται δὲ ἄλλο κατ
a a 7 \
ἄλλο γένος τῶν ὑγρῶν, ὥστε τὰ μὲν ἐν τέλμασι
Φ δὲ > / \ δ᾽ > r ἣν δὲ \ ΕῚ
τὰ δὲ ἐν λίμναις τὰ δ᾽ ἐν ποταμοῖς τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐν
n a Vs οὐ
αὐτῇ τῇ θαλάττῃ φύεσθαι, τὰ μὲν ἐλάττω καὶ ἐν
A a \ / \
τῇ Tap ἡμῖν τὰ δὲ μείζω περὶ THY ἐρυθράν. ἔνια
\
δὲ ὡσπερεὶ κάθυγρα καὶ ἕλεια, καθάπερ ἰτέα Kal
/ \ \ ᾽ > “ὃ / rn bee)
πλάτανος, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐν ὕδατι δυνάμενα ζῆν οὐδ
“ > Ἂς , \ \ , a ’
ὅλως ἀλλὰ διώκοντα τοὺς ξηροὺς τόπους" τῶν ὃ
ἃ ΤᾺ >
ἐλαττόνων ἔστιν ἃ καὶ τοὺς αἰγιαλούς.
κα
1 κατ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς conj. Sch. ; καὶ τά τ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς [7 ; Karo
ταύτας τὰς MVAId.
2 πάντων... τόπους, text perhaps defective,
3 2,6. as to locality. © Gf su, Meads
320
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. w. 1-2
the appearance itself! of the plant. I mean differences
such as those in size, hardness, smoothness or their
opposites, as seen in bark, leaves, and the other
parts; also, in general, differences as to comeliness
or its opposite and as to the production of good or of
inferior fruit. For the wild kinds appear to bear
more fruit, for instance, the wild pear and wild olive,
but the cultivated plants better fruit, having even
flavours which are sweeter and pleasanter and in
general better blended, if one may so say.
These then as has been said, are differences of
natural character, as it were, and still more so are
those between fruitless and fruitful, deciduous and
evergreen plants, and the like. But with all the
differences in all these cases we must take into
account the locality,? and indeed it is hardly possible
to do otherwise. Such °differences would seem to
give us a kind of division into classes, for instance,
between that of aquatic plants and that of plants of
the dry land, corresponding to the division which we
make in the case of animals. For there are some
plants which cannot live except in wet; and again
these are distinguished from one another by their
fondness for different kinds of wetness ; so that some
grow in marshes, others in lakes, others in rivers,
others even in the sea, smaller ones in our own
sea, larger ones in the Red Sea. Some again, one
may say, are lovers of very wet places, or plants
of the marshes, such as the willow and the plane.
Others again cannot live at all® in water, but seek
out dry places; and of the smaller sorts there are
some that prefer the shore.
5.2.6. though not actually living in water.
8 οὐδ᾽ ὅλως conj. W.; ἐν τόυτοις Ald.H. Minime G.
31
3
THEOPHRASTUS
\ \
Ov μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τουτων εἴ τις ἀκριβολο-
A ψ ἊΝ \ vA ef \ \ -“
γεῖσθαι θέλοι, τὰ μὲν ἂν εὕροι κοινὰ καὶ ὥσπερ
» / θά , ees ‘0 \ δὲ
ἀμφίβια, καθάπερ μυρίκην itéav κλήθραν, τὰ δὲ
a c /
καὶ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων χερσαίων πεφυκότα ποτὲ
a an /
ἐν TH θαλάττῃ βιοῦν, φοίνικα oxirrav ἀνθέρικον.
Ἂν \ “ “ ς a
ἀλλὰ TA τοιαῦτα καὶ ὅλως TO οὕτω σκοπεῖν οὐκ
᾽ ld > \ a IQA \ 39) 1 8 he ef
οἰκείως ἐστὶ σκοπεῖν: οὐδὲ yap οὐδ᾽ ἡ φύσις οὕ-
Ἵ “ \ a \
τως οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις EXEL TO ἀναγκαῖον. τὰς
δ \ , a
μὲν οὖν διαιρέσεις Kal ὅλως τὴν ἱστορίαν τῶν φυ-
an ie ar
τῶν οὕτω ληπτέον. [ἅπαντα δ᾽ οὖν Kal ταῦτα καὶ
ἈΝ Ὁ oF ΄, ” A a
Ta ἄλλα διοισει καθάπερ εἴρηται ταῖς τε τῶν
Ὁ “ \ tal a , a aA
ὅλων μορφαῖς καὶ ταῖς τῶν μορίων διαφοραῖς, ἢ
“ » \ δὲ N ” A a ἊἋ, /, \ δ᾽
τῷ ἔχειν τὰ δὲ μὴ ἔχειν, ἢ τῷ πλείω τὰ
A aA fe > e ,
ἐλάττω, ἢ τῷ ἀνομοίως ἢ ὅσοι τρόποι διήρηνται
> a \ \ ’
πρότερον. οἰκεῖον δὲ ἴσως καὶ τοὺς τόπους συμ-
/ > & “ , a \
παραλαμβάνειν ἐν οἷς ἕκαστα πέφυκεν ἢ μὴ
/ / / \' \ «“ \
πέφυκε γίνεσθαι. μεγάλη yap καὶ αὕτη διαφορὰ
/ ω lal
καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα οἰκεία τῶν φυτῶν διὰ TO συνηρ-
a n an ἃ ἣν ᾽ 4 rf
τῆσθαι TH γῇ Kal μὴ ἀπολελύσθαι καθάπερ
τὰ ζῶα.]
’ γ “
V. Ilecpatéov δ᾽ εἰπεῖν τὰς κατὰ μέρος δια-
\ Ἃ “ ἧς al a
φορὰς ws av καθόλου λέγοντας πρῶτον καὶ κοινῶς,
1 θέλοι conj. Sch.; θέλει Ald. H.
2 εὕροι conj. Sch.; εὕρη Ald. ; εὕρῃ H.
3 Presumably as being sometimes found on the shore below
high-water mark.
‘G@navra... ζῶα. This passage seems not to belong
here (W.).
5 τρόποι conj. Sch. ; τόποι UMVAId.
32
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. iv. 3-v. 1
However, if one should wish! to be precise, one
would find? that even of these some are impattial
and as it were amphibious, such as tamarisk willow
alder, and that others even of those which are
admitted to be plants of the dry land sometimes live
in the 568,5 as palm squill asphodel. But to con-
sider all these exceptions and, in general, to consider
in such a manner is not the right way to proceed.
For in such matters too nature certainly does not
thus go by any hard and fast law. Our distinctions
therefore and the study of plants in general must be
understood accordingly. * To return—these plants
as well as all others will be found to differ, as has
been said, both in the shape of the whole and
in the differences between the parts, either as to
having or not having certain parts, or as to having
a greater or less number of parts, or as to having
them differently arranged, or because of other dif-
ferences ὃ such as we have already mentioned. And
it is perhaps also proper to take into account the
situation in which each plant naturally grows or
does not grow. For this is an important distinc-
tion, and specially characteristic of plants, because
they are united to the ground and not free from
it like animals.
Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, whether
general, special, or seen in qualities and properties.
V. Next we must try to give the differences as
to particular parts, in the first instance speaking
broadly of those of a general character,® and then
6 ¥.e. those which divide plants into large classes (e.g.
evergreen and deciduous).
33
to
THEOPHRASTUS
εἶτα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον, ὕστερον ἐπὶ πλεῖον ὥσπερ
ἀναθεωροῦντας.
Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν ὀρθοφυῆ καὶ μακροστελέχη
καθάπερ ἐλάτη πεύκη κυπάριττος, τὰ δὲ σκο-
λιώτερα καὶ βραχυστελέχη οἷον ἰτέα συκῆ ῥοιά,
καὶ κατὰ πάχος δὲ καὶ λεπτότητα ὁμοίως.
καὶ πάλιν τὰ μὲν μονοστελέχη τὰ δὲ πολυ-
στελέχη" τοῦτο δὲ ταὐτὸ τρόπον τινὰ καὶ τῷ
παραβλαστητικὰ ἢ ἀπαράβλαστα εἶναι" καὶ
πολυκλαδῆ καὶ ὀλιγόκλαδα καθάπερ ὁ φοῖνιξ,
καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τούτοις ἔτι κατὰ ἰσχὺν ἢ πάχος ἢ
τὰς τοιαύτας διαφοράς. πάλιν τὰ μὲν λεπτό-
φλοια, καθάπερ δάφνη φίλυρα, Ta δὲ παχύφλοια,
καθάπερ δρῦς. ἔτι τὰ μὲν λειόφλοια, καθάπερ
μηλέα συκῆ, τὰ δὲ τραχύφλοια, καθάπερ ἀγρία
δρῦς φελλὸς φοῖνιξ. πάντα δὲ νέα μὲν ὄντα
λειοφλοιότερα, ἀπογηράσκοντα δὲ τραχυφλοιό-
TEpa, ἔνια δὲ καὶ ῥηξίφλοια, καθάπερ ἄμπελος, τὰ
δὲ καὶ ὡς περιπίπτειν, οἷον ἀνδράχλη μηλέα
κόμαρος. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τῶν μὲν σαρκώδης ὁ ὁ φλοιός,
οἷον φελλοῦ δρυὸς αἰγείρου" τῶν δὲ ἰνώδης καὶ
ἄσαρκος ὁμοίως δένδρων καὶ θάμνων καὶ ἐπετείων,
οἷον ἀμπέλου καλάμου πυροῦ. καὶ τῶν μὲν
πολύλοπος, οἷον φιλύρας ἐλάτης ἀμπέλου λιενο-
σπάρτου κρομύων, τῶν δὲ μονόλοπος, οἷον συκῆς
1 2,6. taking account of differences in qualities, etc. See
§ 4, but the order in which the three kinds of ‘ differences’
are discussed is not that which is here given; the second is
taken first and resumed at 6. 1, the third begins at 5. 4, the
first at 14. 4.
2 ταὐτὸ conj. Sch.; αὐτὸ UMVPAId.
8 πραχυφλοιότερα conj. H. from G; παχυφ. UMALId.
cf. Plin. 16. 126.
34
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v. 1-2
of special differences between individual kinds ; and
after that we must take a wider range, making as it
were a fresh survey.!
Some plants grow straight up and have tall stems,
as silver-fir fir cypress; some are by comparison
crooked and have short stems, as willow fig pome-
granate ; and there are like differences as to degree
of thickness. Again some have a single stem, others
many stems; and this difference corresponds? more
or less to that between those which have side-
growths and those which have none, or that between
those which have many branches and those which
have few, such as the date-palm. And in these
very instances we have also differences in strength
thickness and the like. Again some have thin
bark, such as bay and lime; others have a thick
bark, such as the oak. And again some have
smooth bark, as apple and fig; others rough bark,
as ‘wild oak’ (Valonia oak) cork-oak and date-palm.
However all plants when young have smoother
bark, which gets rougher * as they get older; and
some have cracked bark,’ as the vine; and in some
eases it readily drops off, as in andrachne apple ®
and arbutus. And again of some the bark is fleshy,
as in cork-oak oak poplar; while in others it is
fibrous and not fleshy ; and this applies alike to trees
shrubs and annual plants, for instance to vines
reeds and wheat. Again in some the bark has more
than one layer, as in lime silver-fir vine Spanish
broom © onions’; while in some it consists of only
4 ῥηξίφλοια conj. St.; ῥιζίφοια (ἢ Ὁ ; ῥιζίφλοια P.3 ῥιζό-
OES Ald. οἱ 4. 15. 2, Phin. Le.
5 μηλέα conj. H. Steph., etc.; νηλεία UMPAId.; νήλεια
DOV pe efaliniac.
ὩΣ appears to have read λίνου, σπάρτου. aires 5.1 0.
35
THEOPHRASTUS
\ A
καλάμου aipas. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τοὺς φλοιοὺς ἐν
e ,
τούτοις αἱ διαφοραί.
Τῶν δὲ ξύλων αὐτῶν καὶ ὅλως τῶν καυλῶν οἱ
Ld \ fol a
μέν εἰσι σαρκώδεις, οἷον δρυὸς συκῆς, καὶ τῶν
ἐλαττόνων ῥάμνου τεύτλου κωνείου" οἱ δὲ ἄσαρκοι,
καθάπερ κέδρου λωτοῦ κυπαρίττου. καὶ οἱ μὲν
b , \ \ fol > 7 \ a , /
ἰνώδεις" τὰ yap τῆς ἐλάτης Kal τοῦ φοίνικος ξύλα
τοιαῦτα" τὰ δὲ diva, καθάπερ τῆς συκῆς. ὡσαύ-
ἣν , la \
τως δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν φλεβώδη τὰ δ᾽ ἄφλεβα. περὶ
\ \ \ \ ΄ Sey, \ ς 7
δὲ τὰ φρυγανικὰ καὶ θαμνώδη καὶ ὅλως τὰ ὑλή-
b) e
pata καὶ ἄλλας τις ἂν λάβοι διαφοράς" ὁ μὲν
\ / DO e \ Τὶ \ «
γὰρ κάλαμος γονατῶδες, ὁ δὲ βάτος καὶ ὁ
’ 2 , ς \ / \ » A
παλίουρος ἀκανθώδη. ἡ δὲ τύφη Kal ἔνια τῶν
ε , a ΄, e , ’ ΄, See a
ἑλείων ἢ λιμναίων ὁμοίως ἀδιάφρακτα Kal ὁμαλῆ,
΄ e rn
καθάπερ σχοῖνος. ὁ δὲ τοῦ κυπείρου Kal βουτό-
ἰς ’ \
μου καυλὸς ὁμαλότητά τινα ἔχει παρὰ τούτους"
n lal /
ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἴσως ὁ TOD μύκητος.
- \ , 3 ® e
Αὗται μὲν δὴ δόξαιεν ἂν ἐξ ὧν ἡ σύνθεσις. αἱ
\
δὲ κατὰ Ta πάθη Kal Tas δυνάμεις οἷον σκλη-
, / , ,
ρότης μαλακότης γλισχροτὴης κραυρότης «πυκνό-
͵ / 4 \
της» μανότης κουφότης βαρύτης καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα
nr \ / \ x 5 Ἂν A
τοιαῦτα" ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἰτέα Kal χλωρὸν εὐσὺ κοῦφον,
Η ἢ
ὥσπερ ὁ φελλός, ἡ δὲ πύξος καὶ ἡ ἔβενος οὐδὲ
\ Hi a
αὐανθέντα. καὶ τὰ μὲν σχίζεται, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς
1 ῥάμνου conj. W.; θάμνου P,; βαλάνου Ald. H.
2 κωνείου conj. Sch.; κωνίου Ald.U (corrected to κωνείου).
cfs Oy.
3 δὲ diva conj. Sen from G.; δὲ βῖνα U; δὲ μανά Ald.;
dé... va M.
4 ὑλήματα conj. Sch. (a general berm including shrubs,
under-shrubs, etc. cf. 1. 6.7; 1. 10. 6); κλήματα, Ald.
36
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v. 2-4
one coat, as in fig reed darnel. Such are the
respects in which bark differs.
Next of the woods themselves and of stems
generally some are fleshy, as in oak and fig, and,
among lesser plants, in buckthorn! beet hemlock? ;
while some are not fleshy, for instance, prickly cedar
nettle-tree cypress. Again some are fibrous, for of
this character is the wood of the silver-fir and the
date-palm ; while some are not fibrous,* as in the
fig. In like manner some are full of ‘ veins,’ others
veinless. Further in shrubby plants and under-
shrubs and in woody plants‘ in general one might
find other differences: thus the reed is jointed,
while the bramble and Christ’s thorn have thorns on
the wood. Bulrush and some of the marsh or pond
plants are in like manner® without joints and smooth,
like the rush; and the stem of galingale and sedge
has a certain smoothness beyond those just men-
tioned; and still more perhaps has that of the
mushroom.
Differences as to qualities and properties.
These then would seem to be the differences in
the parts which make up the plant. Those which
belong to the qualities® and properties are such as
hardness or softness, toughness or brittleness, close-
ness or openness of texture, lightness or heaviness,
and the like. For willow-wood is light from the
first, even when it is green, and so is that of the
cork-oak ; but box and ebony are not light even
when dried. Some woods again can be split,’ such
5 ὁμοίως, sense doubtful ; ὁμωνύμων conj. W.
δι wa0n, 415. 1.1: bin.
7 σχίζεται conj. W.; σχισθέντα UMVAId.; σχιστά Η.:
fissiles ἃ.
37
THEOPHRASTUS
ἐλάτης, τὰ δὲ εὔθραυστα μᾶλλον, οἷον τὰ τῆς
γ᾽ / \ \ \ ” e \ n > fal \ \
ἐλάας. καὶ Ta μὲν ἄοζα, οἷον Ta τῆς ἀκτῆς, τὰ δὲ
᾽ , e \ “- / \ /
ὀζώδη, οἷον τὰ τῆς πεύκης καὶ ἐλάτης.
a / al
Δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας ὑπολαμβάνειν «hs
φύσεως. εὔσχιστον μὲν γὰρ ἡ ἐλάτη τῷ εὐθυ-
a ” Ν ΡΟΝ ΄ ὃ \ \ \ \
πορεῖν, εὔθραυστον δὲ ἡ ἐλάα διὰ τὸ σκολιὸν καὶ
/ ” ἮΡΕ / Ἂ Φ .6ὴ 7
σκληρὸν. εὐκαμπτον δὲ ἡ φίλυρα καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα
\ \ , ” \ ig , \ ee
διὰ TO γλίσχραν ἔχειν τὴν ὑγρότητα. βαρὺ δὲ ἡ
Ν / \ δ᾿ 45h Ψ lh ς \ lal “
μὲν πύξος καὶ ἡ ἔβενος ὅτι πυκνά, ἡ δὲ δρῦς ὅτι
lal ¢ / \ \ \ 5 / \
γεῶδες. ὡσαύτως δὲ Kal τὰ ἄλλα πάντα πρὸς
τὴν φύσιν πως ἀνάγεται.
VI. Διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ ταῖς μήτραις" πρῶτον
μὲν εἰ ἔνια ἔχει ἢ μὴ ἔχει, καθάπερ τινές φασιν
ἄλλα τε καὶ τὴν ἀκτήν: ἔπειτα καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς
τοῖς ἔχουσι: τῶν μὲν γάρ ἐστι σαρκώδης τῶν
δὲ ξυλώδης τῶν δὲ ὑμενώδης. καὶ σαρκώδης
μὲν οἷον ἀμπέλου συκῆς μηλέας ῥοιᾶς ἀκτῆς
/ , \ ΄ > / 4
νάρθηκος. ξυλώδης δὲ πίτυος ἐλάτης πεύκης,
\ / “ \ Nee 53 /
Kal μάλιστα αὕτη διὰ TO ἔνδαδος εἶναι. τούτων
δ᾽ ἔτι σκληρότεραι καὶ πυκνότεραι κρανείας
, a
πρίνου δρνὸς κυτίσου συκαμίνου ἐβένου AwTOD.
Διαφέρουσι δὲ αὐταὶ καὶ τοῖς χρώμασι:
/ \ a ? / \ a / A a
μέλαιναι yap THs ἐβένου Kal τῆς δρυός, ἣν καλοῦσι
μελάνδρυον. ἅπασαι δὲ σκληρότεραι καὶ κραυρό-
1 2.6. break across the grain. εὔθραυστα mP3 ἄθραυστα
UPAId.; fragilis G. cf. 5. 5, Plin 16. 186.
2 ἄρζα conj. Palm. from G ; λοξά UPAId.
3 7.e. across the grain. OCF. ὃ: Ὁ: Ὡ; sae) Pi δὲ. LP
δ ‘l. appears not to agree as to elder: see below.
38
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v. 4-νι. 2
as that of the silver-fir, while others are rather break-
able,! such as the wood of the olive. Again some
are without knots,2 as the stems of elder, others
have knots, as those of fir and silver-fir.
Now such differences also must be ascribed to the
essential character of the plant: for the reason why
the wood of silver-fir is easily split is that the
grain is straight, while the reason why olive-wood is
easily broken? is that it is crooked and hard. Lime-
wood and some other woods on the other hand are
easily bent because their sap is viscid. Boxwood
and ebony are heavy because the grain is close, and
oak because it contains mineral matter.’ In like
manner the other peculiarities too can in some way
be referred to the essential character.
Further ‘ special’ differences.
VI. Again there are differences in the ‘core’: in
the first place according as plants have any or have
none, as some say © is the case with elder among other
things; and in the second place there are differences
between those which have it, since in different plants
it is respectively fleshy, woody, or membranous ;
fleshy, as in vine fig apple pomegranate elder ferula ;
woody, as in Aleppo pine silver-fir fir; in the last-
named? especially so, because it is resinous. Harder
again and closer than these is the core of dog-wood
kermes-oak oak Jaburnum mulberry ebony nettle-
LEE.
The cores in themselves also differ in colour; for
that of ebony and oak is black, and in fact in
the oak it is called ‘ oak-black’; and in all these the
core is harder and more brittle than the ordinary
7 αὕτη conj. Sch.; αὐτὴ UAId.; αὐτῇ MV; αὐτῆς P,.
39
ow
THEOPHRASTUS
τεραι τῶν ξύλων: δι᾿ ὃ καὶ οὐχ ὑπομένουσι
καμπήν. μαν ότεραι δὲ αἱ μὲν αἱ δ᾽ οὔ. ὑμενώ-
εἰς δ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς δένδροις οὐκ εἰσὶν ἢ σπάνιοι,
ἐν δὲ τοῖς θαμνώδεσι καὶ ὅλως τοῖς ὑλήμασιν
οἷον καλάμῳ τε καὶ νάρθηκι καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις
εἰσίν. ἔχει δὲ τὴν μήτραν τὰ μὲν μεγάλην καὶ
φανεράν, ὡς πρῖνος δρῦς καὶ τἄλλα προειρη-
μένα, τὰ ὃ ἀφανεστέραν, οἷον ἐλάα πύξος" οὐ
γὰρ ἔστιν ἀφωρισμένην οὕτω λαβεῖν, ἀλλὰ καί
φασί τινες οὐ κατὰ τὸ μέσον ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ πᾶν
ἔχειν" ὥστε μὴ εἶναι τόπον ὡρισμένον" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ
ἔνια οὐδ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν ὅλως ἔχειν" ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦ
φοίνικος οὐδεμία φαίνεται διαφορὰ Kat’ οὐδέν.
Διαφέρουσι, δὲ καὶ ταῖς ῥίζαις. τὰ μὲν γὰρ
πολύρριξα καὶ μακρόρριξα, καθάπερ συκῆ δρῦς
πλάτανος" ἐὰν γὰρ ἔχωσι τόπον, ἐφ᾽ ὁσονοῦν
προέρχονται. τὰ δὲ ὀλιγόρριζα, καθάπερ ῥοιὰ
μηλέα: τὰ δὲ μονόρριξα, καθάπερ ἐλάτη πεύκη:
povoppita δὲ οὕτως, ὅτι μίαν μεγάλην τὴν εἰς
βάθος ἔ ἔχει μικρὰς δὲ ἀπὸ ταύτης πλείους. ἔ ἔχουσι
δὲ καὶ τῶν μὴ μονορρίζων ἔνια. τὴν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου
μεγίστην καὶ κατὰ βάθους, ὥσπερ ἀμυγδαλῆ:
ἐλάα δὲ μικρὰν ταύτην τὰς δὲ ἄλλας μείζους καὶ
ὡς κεκαρκινωμένας. ἔτει δὲ τῶν μὲν παχεῖαι
μᾶλλον τῶν δὲ ἀνωμαλεῖς, καθάπερ δάφνης ἐλάας"
τῶν δὲ πᾶσαι λεπταί, καθάπερ ἀμπέλου. δια-
φέρουσι δὲ καὶ λειότητι καὶ τραχύτητι καὶ πυκνό-
τητι. πάντων γὰρ αἱ ῥίζαι μανότεραι τῶν ἄνω,
1 μανότεραι. .. οὔ: text can hardly be sound, but sense is
clear. 2 7.e. homogeneous. = ein. 10: 127.
4 3. 6. 4 seems to give a different account.
5 of. C.P..3, 23.5, and xapxiumdins CLP. 1. 12.33 3. 21. 5.
40
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vi. 2-4
wood ; and for this reason the core of these trees can
not be bent. Again the core differs in closeness
of texture. A membranous core is not common
in trees, if indeed it is found at all; but it is found
in shrubby plants and woody plants generally, as in
reed ferula and the like. Again in some the core is
large and conspicuous, as in kermes-oak oak and
the other trees mentioned above; while in others it
is less conspicuous, as in olive and box. For in these
trees one cannot find it isolated, but, as some say, it
is not found in the middle of the stem, being diffused
throughout, so that it has no separate place; and for
this reason some trees might be thought to have no
core at all; in fact in the date-palm the wood is
alike throughout.?
Differences wn root.
8 Again plants differ in their roots, some having
many long roots, as fig oak plane; for the roots of
these, if they have room, run to any length. Others
again have few roots, as pomegranate and apple,
others a single root, as silver-fir and fir; these have
a single root in the sense that they have one long
one ὅ which runs deep, and a number of small ones
branching from this. Even in some of those which
have more than a single root the middle root is the
largest and goes deep, for instance, in the almond ;
in the olive this central root is small, while the
others are larger and, as it were, spread out crab-
wise. Again the roots of some are mostly stout, of
some of various degrees of stoutness, as those of
bay and olive; and of some they are all slender,
as those of the vine. Roots also differ in degree
of smoothness and in density. For the roots of all
41
THEOPHRASTUS
πυκνότεραι δὲ ἄλλαι ἄλλων καὶ ξυλχωδέστεραι'
καὶ αἱ μὲν ἰνώδεις, ὡς αἱ τῆς ἐλάτης, αἱ δὲ σαρκ-
ώδεις μᾶλλον, ὥσπερ αἱ τῆς δρυός, αἱ δὲ οἷον
ὀξώδεις καὶ θυσανώδεις, ὥσπερ αἱ τῆς ἐλάας:
τοῦτο δὲ ὅτι τὰς λεπτὰς καὶ μικρὰς πολλὰς
ἔχουσι καὶ ἀθρόας: ἐπεὶ πᾶσαί γε καὶ ταύτας
ἀποφύουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν μεγάλων ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως
ἀθρόας καὶ πολλάς.
"Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν βαθύρριζα, καθάπερ δρῦς,
τὰ δ᾽ ἐπιπολαιόρριξα, καθάπερ ἐλάα ῥοιὰ μηλέα
κυπάριττος. ἔτι δὲ αἱ μὲν εὐθεῖαι καὶ ὁμαλεῖς,
αἱ δὲ σκολιαὶ καὶ παραλλάττουσαι" τοῦτο γὰρ
οὐ μόνον συμβαίνει διὰ τοὺς τόπους τῷ μὴ
εὐοδεῖν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῆς ἐστιν, ὥσπερ
ἐπὶ τῆς δάφνης καὶ τῆς ἐλάας: ἡ δὲ συκῆ καὶ τὰ
τοιαῦτα σκολιοῦται διὰ τὸ μὴ εὐοδεῖν.
ἽΛπασαι δ᾽ ἔμμητροι καθάπερ καὶ τὰ στελέχη
καὶ οἱ ἀκρεμόνες" καὶ εὔλογον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς.
εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ μὲν παραβλαστητικαὶ εἰς τὸ ἄνω,
καθάπερ ἀμπέλου poas, αἱ δὲ ἀπαράβλαστοι,
καθάπερ ἐλάτης κυπαρίττου πεύκης. αἱ αὐταὶ
δὲ διαφοραὶ καὶ τῶν φρυγανικῶν καὶ τῶν ποιωδῶν
καὶ τῶν ἄλλων: πλὴν εἰ ὅλως ἔνια μὴ ἔχει,
καθάπερ ὕδνον μύκης πέξις κεραύνιον. τὰ μὲν
πολύρριξα καθάπερ πυρὸς τίφη. κριθή, πᾶν τὸ
τοιοῦτο, καθάπερ εἰκαζούσαις" τὰ δ᾽ ὀλιγόρριξα
καθάπερ τὰ χεδροπά. σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τῶν Aaxav-
ωδῶν τὰ πλεῖστα μονόρριζα, οἷον padavos
1 πέζις κεραύνιον : πύξος κράνιον UMVAIA. ; πέζις conj. Sch.
from Athen. 2. 59; κεραύνιον conj. W. cf. Plin. 8. 36 and 37,
Juv. 5. 111. 2 εἰκαζούσαις : word corrupt; so UMVAIld.
3 Plin. 19. 98.
42
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. νι. 4-6
plants are less dense than the parts above ground,
but the density varies in different kinds, as also does
the woodiness. Some are fibrous, as those of the
silver-fir, some fleshier, as those of the oak, some are
as it were branched and tassel-like, as those of the
olive; and this is because they have a large number
of fine small roots close together ; for all in fact pro-
duce these from their large roots, but they are not
so closely matted nor so numerous in some cases as
in others.
Again some plants are deep-rooting, as the oak,
and some have surface roots, as olive pomegranate
apple cypress. Again some roots are straight and
uniform, others crooked and crossing one another.
For this comes to pass not merely on account of the
situation because they cannot find a straight course ;
it may also belong to the natural character of the
plant, as in the bay and the olive; while the fig and
such like become crooked because they can not find
a straight course.
All roots have core, just as the stems and branches
do, which is to be expected, as all these parts are
made of the same materials. Some roots again have
side-growths shooting upwards, as those of the vine
and pomegranate, while some have no side-growth,
as those of silver-fir cypress and fir. The same
differences are found in under-shrubs and herbaceous
plants and the rest, except that some have no roots
at all, as truffle mushroom bullfist! ‘ thunder-truffle.’
Others have numerous roots, as wheat one-seeded
wheat barley and all plants of like nature, for
instance,?.... Some have few roots, as legu-
minous plants. %And in general most of the pot-
herbs have single roots, as cabbage beet celery
43
8
THEOPHRASTUS
τεῦτλον σέλινον λάπαθος: πλὴν ἔνια καὶ ἀπο-
φυάδας ἔχει μεγάλας, οἷον τὸ σέλινον καὶ τὸ
τεῦτλον" καὶ ὡς ἂν κατὰ λόγον. ταῦτα βαθυρριξζ-
oTepa τῶν δένδρων. εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν μὲν σαρκώδεις,
καθάπερ ῥαφανίδος γογγυλίδος ἄρου κρόκου"
τῶν δὲ ξυλώδεις, οἷον εὐζώμου ὠκίμου' καὶ τῶν
ἀγρίων δὲ τῶν πλείστων, ὅσων μὴ εὐθὺς πλείους
καὶ σχιζόμεναι, καθάπερ πυροῦ κριθῆς καὶ τῆς
καλουμένης πόας. αὕτη γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἐπετείοις καὶ
ἐν τοῖς ποιώδεσιν ἡ διαφορὰ τῶν ῥιζῶν ὥστε τὰς
μὲν εὐθὺς σχίζεσθαι πλείους οὔσας καὶ ὁμαλεῖς,
τῶν δὲ ἄλλων μίαν ἢ δύο τὰς μεγίστας καὶ ἄλλας
ἀπὸ τούτων.
“Ὅλως δὲ πλείους αἱ διαφοραὶ τῶν ῥιζῶν ἐν
τοῖς ὑλήμασι καὶ λαχανώδεσιν' εἰσὶ γὰρ αἱ μὲν
ξυλώδεις, ὥσπερ αἱ τοῦ ὠκίμου: αἱ δὲ σαρκώδεις,
ὥσπερ αἱ τοῦ τεύτλου καὶ ἔτι δὴ μᾶλλον τοῦ
ἄρου καὶ ἀσφοδέλου καὶ κρόκου" αἱ δὲ ὥσπερ
ἐκ φλοιοῦ καὶ σαρκός, ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν ῥαφανίδων καὶ
γογγυλίδων' αἱ δὲ γονατώδεις, ὥ ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν καλά-
μων καὶ ἀγρώστεων καὶ εἴ τι καλαμῶδες, καὶ “μόναι
δὴ αὗται ἢ μάλισθ᾽ ὅμοιαι τοῖς ὑπὲρ γῆς" ὥσπερ
γὰρ κάλαμοί εἰσιν ἐρριξωμένοι ταῖς λεπταῖς. αἱ
δὲ λεπυρώδεις ἢ φλοιώδεις, οἷον αἵ τε τῆς σκίλλης
καὶ τοῦ βολβοῦ καὶ ἔτι κρομύου καὶ τῶν τούτοις
ὁμοίων. αἰεὶ γὰρ ἔστι περιαιρεῖν αὐτῶν.
Πάντα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα δοκεῖ καθάπερ δύο γένη
ῥιζῶν ἔχειν: τοῖς δὲ καὶ ὅλως τὰ κεφαλοβαρῆ
καὶ κατάρριζα πάντα' τήν τε σαρκώδη ταύτην
1 The same term being applied to ‘herbaceous’ plants in
general. "Plin. 19. 98.
44
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v1. 6-8
monk’s rhubarb; but some have large side-roots, as
celery and beet, and in proportion to their size these
root deeper than trees. Again of some the roots are
fleshy, as in radish turnip cuckoo-pint crocus; of
some they are woody, as in rocket and basil. And
so with most wild plants, except those whose roots
are to start with numerous and much divided, as
those of wheat barley and the plant specially! called
‘grass.’ For in annual and herbaceous plants this is
the difference between the roots:—Some are more
numerous and uniform and much divided to start
with, but the others have one or two specially large
roots and others springing from them.
To speak generally, the differences in roots are
more numerous in shrubby plants and pot-herbs ;
2 for some are woody, as those of basil, some fleshy, as
those of beet, and still more those of cuckoo-pint
asphodel and crocus; some again are made, as it
were, of bark and flesh, as those of radishes and
turnips; some have joints, as those of reeds and
dog’s tooth grass and of anything of a reedy charac-
ter ; and these roots alone, or more than any others,
resemble the parts above ground; they are in fact
like 38 reeds fastened in the ground by their fine roots.
Some again have scales or a kind of bark, as those of
squill and purse-tassels, and also of onion and things
like these. In all these it is possible to strip oft
a coat.
Now all such plants, seem, as it were, to have two
kinds of root ; and so, in the opinion of some, this is
true generally of all plants which have a solid ‘head’
and send out roots from it downwards. These have,
3 2,6. the main root is a sort of repetition of the part
above ground. 4 2,6. bulb, corm, rhizome, etc.
45
THEOPHRASTUS
Kat φλοιώδη, καθάπερ ἡ σκίλλα, καὶ τὰς ἀπὸ
ταύτης ἀποπεφ υκυίας" οὐ γὰρ λεπτότητι καὶ παχύ-
τητι διαφέρουσι μόνον, ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν δένδρων καὶ
τῶν λαχάνων, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοῖον ἔχουσι τὸ γένος.
ἐκφανεστάτη δ᾽ ἤδη i} τε τοῦ ἄρου καὶ ἡ τοῦ κυ-
πείρου" ἡ μὲν γὰρ παχεῖα καὶ λεία καὶ σαρκώδης,
ἡ δὲ λεπτὴ καὶ ἰνώδης. διόπερ ἀπορήσειεν ἄν
τις εἰ ῥίξας τὰς τοιαύτας θετέον: ἧ ἧ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ
γῆς δόξαιεν. ἄν, ἡ δὲ ὑπεναντίως ἔχουσι ταῖς
ἄλλαις οὐκ ἂν δόξαιεν. ἡ μὲν γὰρ ῥίζα λεπτο-
τέρα πρὸς τὸ πόρρω καὶ ἀεὶ σύνοξυς" ἢ δὲ τῶν
σκιλλῶν καὶ τῶν βολβῶν καὶ τῶν ἄρων ἀνά-
παλιν.
"Ere δ᾽ αἱ μὲν ἄλλαι κατὰ τὸ πλάγιον ἀφιᾶσι
εὖ e \ la nr \ A “- >
piSas, ai δὲ τῶν σκιχλλῶν Kal τῶν βολβῶν οὐκ
ἀφιᾶσιν" οὐδὲ τῶν ,“σκορόδων καὶ τῶν κρομύων.
ὅλως δέ γε ἐν ταύταις αἱ κατὰ μέσον ἐκ τῆς
κεφαλῆς ᾿ἡρτημέναι φαίνονται ῥίξαι καὶ τρέφον-
ται. τοῦτο δ᾽ ὥσπερ κῦμα ἢ καρπός, ὅθεν καὶ οἱ
ἐγγεοτόκα λέγοντες οὐ κακῶς" ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων
τοιοῦτο μὲν οὐδέν ἐ ἐστιν: ἐπεὶ δὲ πλεῖον ἡ φύσις
ἢ κατὰ ῥίζαν ταύτῃ ἀπορίαν ἔχει. τὸ γὰρ δὴ
πᾶν “λέγειν. τὸ κατὰ γῆς ῥίζαν. οὐκ ὀρθόν" καὶ γὰρ
ἂν ὁ καυλὸς τοῦ βολβοῦ καὶ ὁ τοῦ γηθύου καὶ
1 τὰς conj. Sch.; τῆς ΑΙ4.Η.; τὴν... ἀποπεφυκυῖαν Ῥ.
2 ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοῖον ἔχουσι conj. St.; ἀλλὰ λεῖον ἔχοντες PMV
Ald.; ἀλλοῖον ἐχ. mBas.mP from G3 ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοῖον ἔχουσαι
conj. Seal. Bo fi 4. (10.05;
4 καὶ ἀεὶ Ald. ; ἀεὶ καὶ conj. W. 5 Plin. 19. 99,
6 cf. the definition of ‘ root,’ 1. 1. 9.
7 ἐγγεότοκα λέγοντες conj. W.; ch. ἡ τῶν ἐγ' πκοτόκων
τούτων γένεσις in Athenaeus’ citation of this passage “2. 60) ;
46
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. νι. 8-9
that is to say, this fleshy or bark-like root, like squill,
as well as the! roots which grow from this. For
these roots not only differ in degree of stoutness,
like those of trees and pot-herbs; they are of quite
distinct classes.2 This is at once quite evident in
cuckoo-pint and galingale,? the root being in the one
case thick smooth and fleshy, in the other thin and
fibrous. Wherefore we might question if such roots
should be called ‘ roots’; inasmuch as they are under
ground they would seem to be roots, but, inasmuch
as they are of opposite character to other roots, they
would not. For your root gets slenderer as it gets
longer and tapers continuously * to a point; but the
so-called root of squill purse-tassels and cuckoo-pint
does just the opposite.
Again, while the others send out roots at the
sides, this is not the case® with squill and purse-
tassels, nor yet with garlic and onion. In general
in these plants the roots which are attached to
the ‘head’ in the middle appear to be real roots
and receive nourishment,® and this ‘head’ is, as
it were, an embryo or fruit; wherefore those who
call such plants ‘plants which reproduce them-
selves underground’? give a fair account of them.
In other kinds of plants there is nothing of this
sort.§ But a difficult question is raised, since here
the ‘root’ has a character which goes beyond what
one associates with roots. For it is not right to call
all that which is underground ‘root,’ since in that
case the stalk’ of purse-tassels and that of long
onion and in general any part which is under-
eyteoo οισαλεΎγοντες U3 ἔν τε τοῖς ὀστοῖς ἀλέγοντες MV (omit-
ting te) Ald. (omitting τοῖς).
8 πριοῦτο μὲν οὐδέν conj. W.; τοῦτο μὲν MSS
9 ἂν ὁ καυλός conj. St.; ἀνάκαυλος Ald.
47
10
11
THEOPHRASTUS
ὅλως ὅσα κατὰ βάθους ἐστὶν εἴησαν ἂν ῥίξαι,
καὶ τὸ ὕδνον δὲ καὶ ὃ καλοῦσί τίνες ἀσχίον καὶ
τὸ οὔϊγγον καὶ εἴτι ἄλλο ὑπόγειόν ἐστιν: ὧν
οὐδέν ἐστι pita: δυνάμει γὰρ δεῖ φυσικῇ διαιρεῖν
καὶ οὐ τόπῳ.
Τάχα δὲ τοῦτο μὲν ὀρθῶς λέγεται, pita δὲ οὐδὲν
ἧττόν ἐστιν" ἀλλὰ διαφορά τις αὕτη τῶν ῥιζῶν,
ὥστε τὴν μέν τινα τοιαύτην εἶναι τὴν δὲ τοιαύτην
καὶ τρέφεσθαι τὴν ἑτέραν ὑπὸ τῆς ἑτέρας. καίτοι
καὶ αὐταὶ αἱ σαρκώδεις ἐοίκασιν ἕλκειν. τὰς
γοῦν τῶν ἄρων πρὸ τοῦ βλαστάνειν στρέφουσι
καὶ γίγνονται μείξους κωλυόμεναι διαβῆναι πρὸς
τὴν βλάστησιν. ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε πάντων τῶν τοιού-
των ἡ φύσις ἐπὶ τὸ κάτω μᾶλλον ῥέπει φανερόν'
οἱ μὲν γὰρ καυλοὶ καὶ ὅλως τὰ ἄνω βραχέα καὶ
ἀσθενῆ, τὰ δὲ κάτω μεγάλα καὶ πολλὰ καὶ
ἰσχυρὰ οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ
καλάμου καὶ ἀγρώστιδος καὶ ὅλως ὅσα καλαμώδη
καὶ τούτοις ὅμοια. καὶ ὅσα δὴ ναρθηκώδη, καὶ
τούτων ῥίξαι μεγάλαι καὶ σαρκώδεις.
Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν ποιωδῶν ἔ ἔχει τοιαύτας ῥίζας,
οἷον σπάλαξ κρόκος καὶ τὸ περδίκιον καλούμενον"
καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο παχείας τε καὶ πλείους ἔχει τὰς
ῥίζας ἢ φύλλα: καλεῖται δὲ περδίκιον διὰ τὸ τοὺς
πέρδικας ἐγκυλιεσθαι καὶ ὀρύττειν. ὁμοίως δὲ
1 βάθους conj. Sch.; βάθος Ald.
2 καὶ ὃ W. after U; καὶ om. Ald.; G omits also τὸ before
οὔϊγγον, making the three plants synonymous. The passage
is cited by Athen., /.c., with considerable variation.
3 σοιαύτην Con]. St.; ; τοσαύτην MSS.
4 ὦ, 6. the fleshy root (tuber, etc.).
5 i.e. the fibrous root (root proper).
48
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vi. 9-11
vround! would be a root, and so would the truflle,
the plant which? some call puff-ball, the wengon, and
all other underground plants. Whereas none of these
is a root; for we must base our definition on natural
function and not on position.
However it may be that this is a true account and
yet that such things are roots no less; but in that
case we distinguish two different kinds of root, one
being of this character? and the other of the other,
and the one?* getting its nourishment from the
other®; though the fleshy roots too themselves seem
to draw nourishment. At all events men invert ® the
roots of cuckoo-pint before it shoots, and so they
become larger by being prevented from pushing‘
through to make a shoot. For it is evident that the
nature of all such plants is to turn downwards for
choice ; for the stems and the upper parts generally
are short and weak, while the underground parts
are large numerous and strong, and that, not only in
the instances given, but in reeds dog’s-tooth grass
and in general in all plants of a reedy character and
those like them. Those too which resemble ferula ὃ
have large fleshy roots.
®Many herbaceous plants likewise have such roots,
as colchicum 190. crocus and the plant called “ par-
tridge-plant’; for this too has thick roots which are
more numerous than its leaves. 1! (It is called the
‘partridge-plant’ because partridges roll in it and
grub it up.) So too with the plant called in Egypt
6 στρέφουσι conj. Sch.; τρεφουσι MVAId.; cf. 7. 12. 2.
7 διαβῆναι conj. W.; διαθεῖναι UMV.
8 2,6. have a hollow stem (umbelliferous plants, more or
less). Slane 93999:
10 σπάλαξ UMV; ἀσπάλαξ mBas.: perhaps corrupt.
1 Plin. 21. 102.
49
THEOPHRASTUS
καὶ τὸ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καλούμενον οὔϊγγον' τὰ μὲν
γὰρ φύλλα μεγάλα καὶ ὁ βλαστὸς αὐτοῦ βραχύς,
ἡ δὲ ῥίζα μακρὰ καί ἐστιν ὥσπερ ὁ καρπός.
διαφέρει τε καὶ ἐσθίεται, καὶ συλλέγουσι δὲ ὅταν
12 ὁ ποταμὸς ἀποβῇ στρέφοντες τὰς βώλους. φανε-
ρώτατα δὲ καὶ πλείστην ἔχοντα πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα
διαφορὰν τὸ σίλφιον καὶ ἡ καλουμένη “μαγύδαρις"
ἀμφοτέρων γὰρ τούτων καὶ ἁπάντων τῶν τοιούτων
ἐν ταῖς ῥίζαις μᾶλλον ἡ φύσις. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν
ταύτῃ ληπτέα.
Ἔνιαι δὲ τῶν ῥιζῶν πλείω “δόξαιεν ἂν ἔχειν
διαφορὰν παρὰ τὰς εἰρημένας" οἷον αἵ τε τῆς ἀρα-
χίδνης καὶ τοῦ ὁμοίου τῷ ἀράκῳ' “Φέρουσι γὰρ
ἀμφότεραι καρπὸν οὐκ ἐλάττω τοῦ ἄνω: καὶ μίαν
μὲν ῥίξαν τὸ ἀρακῶδες τοῦτο παχεῖαν ἔχει τὴν
κατὰ βάθους, τὰς δ᾽ ἄλλας ἐφ᾽ ὧν ὁ καρπὸς
λεπτοτέρας καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄκρῳ [καὶ] σχιζομένας πολ-
ayn φιλεῖ δὲ μάλιστα χωρία τὰ ὕφαμμα' φύλ-
λον δὲ οὐδέτερον ἔχει τούτων οὐδ᾽ ὅμοια τοῖς
φύλλοις, ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ ἀμφίκαρπα μᾶλλον ἐστιν" ὃ
καὶ φαίνεται θαυμάσιον. αἱ μὲν οὖν φύσεις
καὶ δυνάμεις τοσαύτας ἔχουσι διαφοράς.
VII. Αὐξάνεσθαι δὲ πάντων δοκοῦσιν αἱ ῥίζαι
πρότερον τῶν ἄνω' καὶ γὰρ φύεται εἰς βάθος:
οὐδεμία δὲ καθήκει πλέον ἢ ὅσον ὁ ἥλιος ἐφικνεῖ-
ται' τὸ γὰρ θερμὸν τὸ γεννῶν: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ
1 οὔϊγγον mBas.H.; οὕὔϊτον MV; ουΐτον Ald.; cf. 1. 1. 7;
Plin. 21. 88 (oetwm).
2 μεγάλα: text doubtful (W.).
3 διαφέρει : text doubtful (Sch.).
4 στρέφοντες τὰς βώλους conj. Coraés; στέφυντες βωμού:
UMVAId. 5 éy ins. Sch.
5°
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vi. 11-vu. 1
wangon }; for its leaves are large? and its shoots short,
while the root is long and is, as it were, the fruit.
It is an excellent thing? and is eaten; men gather
it when the river goes down by turning the clods.*
But the plants which afford the most conspicuous
instances and shew the greatest difference as com-
pared with others are silphium and the plant called
magydaris ; the character of both of these and of all
such plants is especially shewn in® their roots. Such
is the account to be given of these plants.
Again some roots would seem to shew a greater
difference ὃ than those mentioned, for instance, those
of arakhidna,’ and of a plant® which resembles
arakos. For both of these bear a fruit underground
which is as large as the fruit above ground, and this
arakos-like® plant has one thick root, namely, the
one which runs deep, while the others which bear
the ‘fruit’ are slenderer and branch?® in many
directions at the tip. It is specially fond of sandy
ground. Neither of these plants has a leaf nor
anything resembling a leaf, but they bear, as it
were, two kinds of fruit instead, which seems sur-
prising. So many then are the differences shewn
in the characters and functions of roots.
VII. The roots of all plants seem to grow earlier
than the parts above ground (for growth does take
place downwards 1). But no root goes down further
than the sun reaches, since it is the heat which
induces growth. Nevertheless the nature of the soil,
6 2,4. to be even more abnormal: διαφορὰν conj. Sch.;
διαφοραὶ Ald. MP line 2189:
8 tine-tare. See Index, App. (1).
® ἀρακῶδες conj. Sch.; σαρκῶδες Ald.G.
10 καὶ before σχιζ. om. Sch. from G.
Wes ΟΡ. 12:7. (cited: by, Warro,) 1445. 3); 5. 911:
iw
THEOPHRASTUS
ταῦτα μεγάλα συμβάλλεται πρὸς βαθυρριξίαν
καὶ ἔτι “μᾶλλον πρὸς μακρορριξζίαν, ἡ τῆς χώρας
φύσις ἐὰν ῆ κούφη καὶ μανὴ καὶ εὐδίοδος" ἐν γὰρ
ταῖς τοιαύταις πορρωτέρω καὶ μείζους αἱ αὐξή-
σεις. φανερὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμερωμάτων: ἔχοντα
γὰρ ὕδωρ ὁπουοῦν δίεισιν ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἐπειδὰν ὁ
τόπος ἢ κενὸς καὶ μηδὲν τὸ ἀντιστατοῦν. ἤγουν
ἐν τῷ Λυκείῳ ἡ πλάτανος ἡ κατὰ τὸν ὀχετὸν ἔτι
νέα οὖσα ἐπὶ τρεῖς καὶ τριάκοντα πήχεις ἀφῆκεν
ἔχουσα τόπον τε ἅμα. καὶ τροφή ἢν.
Δόξειε δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἡ συκῆ μακρορριζότατον
εἶναι καὶ ὅλως δὲ μᾶλλον τὰ μανὰ καὶ εὐθύρριζα.
πάντα δὲ τὰ νεώτερα τῶν παλαιῶν, ἐὰν εἰς ἀκμὴν
ἥκωσιν, ἤδη βαθυρριζότερα καὶ μακρορριζότερα.
συμφθίνουσι γὰρ καὶ αἱ ῥίξαι τῷ ἄλλῳ σώματι.
πάντων δὲ ὁ ὁμοίως οἱ χυλοὶ τοῖς φυτοῖς δεινότεροι,
τοῖς δὲ ὡς ἐπίπαν" δι’ ὃ καὶ ἐνίων πικραὶ ὧν οἱ
καρποὶ γλυκεῖς: αἱ δὲ καὶ φαρμακώδεις" ἔνιαι δ᾽
εὐώδεις, ὥσπερ αἱ τῆς ἴριδος.
Tota δὲ ῥίξης φύσις καὶ δύναμις ἡ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς
συκῆς" ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν βλαστῶν ἀφίησι, μέχρι οὗ
ἂν συνάψῃ τῇ γῇ καὶ ῥιζωθῇ, καὶ γίνεται περὶ τὸ
δένδρον κύκλῳ συνεχὲς τὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν οὐχ ἁπτό-
μενον τοῦ στελέχους ἀλλ᾽ ἀφεστηκός.
1 ταῦτα before μέγαλα om. W.
2 ἡμερωμάτων conj. Sch.; ἡμερωτάτων UP,Ald.: cf. U.P.
5. 61:8.
3 ὁπουοῦν MSS. ; ὁποσονοῦν conj. W. from G, in quantwm
libeat. 4 ἐπειδὰν conj. Sch.; ἐπεὶ κἂν UMVPAId.
> Quoted by Varro, 1. 37. 5.
6 ἐπὶ conj. Sch.; παρὰ P,; περὶ Ald.
7 συμφθίνουσι : συμφωνοῦσι conj. St.
52
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vu. 1-3
if it is light open and porous, contributes greatly! to
deep rooting, and still more to the formation of long
roots; for in such soils growth goes further and is
more vigorous. ‘This is evident in cultivated plants.”
For, provided that they have water, they run on, one
may say, wherever it may be,? whenever‘ the ground
is unoccupied and there is no obstacle. ° For instance
the plane-tree by the watercourse in the Lyceum
when it was still young sent out its roots a distance
of® thirty-three cubits, having both room and
nourishment.
The fig would seem, one may say, to have the
longest roots, and in general plants which have wood
of loose texture and straight roots would seem to
have these longer. Also young plants, provided that
they have reached their prime, root deeper and have
longer roots than old ones ; for the roots decay along
with’? the rest of the plant’s body. And in all
cases alike the juices of plants ὃ are more powerful in
the roots than in other parts, while in some cases
they are extremely powerful; wherefore the roots
are bitter in some plants whose fruits are sweet ;
some roots again are medicinal, and some are frag-
rant, as those of the iris.
The character and function of the roots of the
‘Indian fig’ (banyan) are peculiar, for this plant sends
out roots from the shoots till it has a hold on the
ground ® and roots again ; and so there comes to be
a continuous circle of roots round the tree, not
connected with the main stem but at a distance
from it.
8 τρῖς φυτοῖς Ald.; ταῖς ῥίζαις con]. W. from G: text pro.
hably defective.
9 rf γῇ conj. Scal. from (ἃ ; συκῇ U; τῇ συκῇ P,Ald.
53
THEOPHRASTUS
4 rn ,
Παραπλήσιον δὲ τούτῳ μᾶλλον δὲ τρόπον τινὰ
, an / > / /
θαυμασιώτερον εἴ τι ἐκ τῶν φύλλων ἀφίησι ῥίξαν,
ar \ δ lal ’ὔ ΑΨ ἃ
οἷόν φασι περὶ ᾿Οποῦντα ποιάριον εἶναι, ὃ Kai
᾽ ’ / ᾽ ς ΄ \ \ Φ lal ,
ἐσθίεσθαί ἐστιν ἡδύ. τὸ yap αὖ τῶν θέρμων
\ Ka “ nA > A / “
θαυμαστὸν ἧττον, ὅτι ἂν ἐν ὕλῃ βαθείᾳ σπαρῇ
, \ Caf. ‘ ᾿ a \ / \
διείρει τὴν ῥίζαν πρὸς τὴν γῆν καὶ βλαστάνει διὰ
Ἕ Ν \ fal a
τὴν ἰσχύν. ἀλλὰ δὴ τὰς μὲν τῶν ῥιζῶν διαφο-
fe
pas ἐκ τούτων θεωρητέον.
ra /
VIII. Τῶν δένδρων tas τοιαύτας av τις λάβοι
Ψ ” \ \ \ δὴ γὃ \ > ” -
διαφοράς. ἔστι yap τὰ μὲν ὀζώδη τὰ δ᾽ ἄνοζα
\ ΄, \ ’ \ \ a \ 2
καὶ φύσει καὶ τόπῳ κατὰ TO μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον.
” \ / > “ \ ” “ OA
ἄνοζα δὲ λέγω οὐχ ὥστε μὴ ἔχειν ὅλως ---οὐδὲν
γὰρ τοιοῦτο δένδρον, ἀλλ᾽ εἴπερ, ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων
2 al / / Ὁ“ J \ La
οἷον σχοῖνος τύφη κύπειρος ὅλως ἐπὶ TOV λιμνω-
lal > ᾽ “ ? , » / \ z
δῶν---ἀλλ᾽ ὥστε ὀλίγους ἔχειν. φύσει μὲν οἷον
? an /
ἀκτὴ δάφνη συκῆ ὅλως πάντα τὰ λειόφλοια Kal
doa κοῖλα καὶ μανά. ὀζῶδες δὲ ἐλάα πεύκη
\ / \
κότινος" τούτων δὲ Ta μὲν ἐν παλισκίοις Kal
, \ > / \ \ ᾽ > / \
νηνέμοις καὶ ἐφύδροις, τὰ δὲ ἐν εὐηλίοις καὶ χει-
Ἂν / lal rn
μερίοις καὶ πνευματώδεσι καὶ λεπτοῖς καὶ ξηροῖς"
\ \ \ > , \ S2 ᾽ Be -
τὰ μὲν yap ἀνοζότερα, τὰ δὲ ὀξζωδέστερα τῶι
1 7: conj. W.; τις MSS. - Plin. 9 10,4.
3 cf. 8. 11. 8; Plin. 18. 133 and 134.
§ διείρει conj. Sch. » διαιρεῖ P,Ald.; cf C.P. 2. 17. 7.
5 ὕζος is the knot and the bough starting from it: cf.
Arist. de iuv. et sen. 3.
6 ἐπὶ τῶν conj. Coraés; ἡ τῶν UM; ἧττον (erased) P (ἐκ
τῶν marg.) ῆττον Ald.
54
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. νι. 3-viu. 1
Something similar to this, but even more surprising,
occurs in those plants which! emit roots from their
leaves, as they say does a certain herb? which grows
about Opus, which is also sweet to taste. The
peculiarity again of lupins? is less surprising, namely
that, if the seed is dropped where the ground is
thickly overgrown, it pushes ὁ its root through to the
earth and germinates because of its vigour. But
we have said enough for study of the differences
between roots.
Of trees (principally) and their characteristic special differences:
as to knots.
VIII. One may take it that the following are
the differences between trees:—Some have knots,°
more or less, others are more or less without them,
whether from their natural character or because of
their position. But, when I say ‘without knots,’ |
do not mean that they have no knots at all (there is
no tree like that, but, if it is true of any plants, it is
only of © other kinds, such as rush bulrush’ galingale
and plants of the lake side 8 generally) but that they
have few knots. Now this is the natural character
of elder bay fig and all smooth-barked trees, and
in general of those whose wood is hollow or of a
loose texture. Olive fir and wild olive have knots;
and some of these grow in thickly shaded windless
and wet places, some in sunny positions exposed to
storms and winds,® where the soil is light and dry;
for the number of knots varies between trees of the
7 τύφη conj. Bod.; τίφη UAId.H.; cf. 1. 5. 3.
8 ἐπὶ τῶν conj. W.; εἴ τι ἐπὶ τῶν Ald.
9 πνευματώδεσι Conj. Scal.; πυματώδεσι Us πυγματώδεσι
ΜΝ ΑΙ,
55
THEOPHRASTUS
ς a Ψ ΔῊ 5 , ΤΡ \ a
ὁμογενῶν. ὅλως δὲ ὀξωδέστερα τὰ ὀρεινὰ τῶν
a x \ A ’
πεδεινῶν καὶ τὰ ξηρὰ τῶν ἑλείων.
Ὑ \ N \ , \ \ ΑΓ ΟὟ,
Ετι δὲ κατὰ τὴν φυτείαν τὰ μὲν πυκνὰ ἄνοζα
,
Kal ὀρθά, τὰ δὲ pava ὀζωδέστερα καὶ σκολιώτερα"
\ \ , 4 \
συμβαίνει yap ὥστε τὰ μὲν ἐν παλισκίῳ εἶναι TA
Ν > > / \ \ ” \ La) Lal
δὲ ἐν εὐηλίῳ. καὶ τὰ ἄρρενα δὲ τῶν θηλειῶν
᾽ / » a ᾽ ” /
ὀζωδέστερα ἐν ols ἐστιν ἄμφω, οἷον κυπάριττος
A a u ,
ἐλάτη ὀστρυΐς κρανεία: καλοῦσι yap γένος τι
fd x 7 an
θηλυκρανείαν" καὶ Ta ἄγρια δὲ TOV ἡμέρων, καὶ
fal ’
ἁπλῶς καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ ταὐτὸ γένος, οἷον κότινος
‘ Qn ’; ΄
ἐλάας καὶ ἐρινεὸς συκῆς καὶ ἀχρὰς ἀπίου. πάντα
γὰρ ταῦτα ὀζωδέστερα:' καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ
\ a a \
πάντα τὰ πυκνὰ TOV μανῶν: Kal yap τὰ ἄρρενα
Ud \ \ ΝΜ \ \ U
πυκνότερα καὶ τὰ ἄγρια' πλὴν εἴ τι διὰ πυκνό-
fal » A ? ’ὔ φ /
TnTa παντελῶς avolov ἢ ὀλίγοζον, οἷον πύξος
,
λωτος.
Εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν μὲν ἄτακτοι καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν οἱ ὄζοι,
τῶν δὲ τεταγμένοι καὶ τῷ διαστήματι καὶ τῷ
᾽ /
πλήθει καθάπερ εἴρηται: δι’ ὃ καὶ ταξιόζωτα
lal “ a \ ” 3 a
ταῦτα καλοῦσιν. τῶν μὲν yap οἷον δι’ ἴσου τῶν
lal rh," Ν Ν a x‘ “
δὲ μεῖζον αἰεὶ τὸ πρὸς τῷ πάχει. καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ
/ “ / Μ \ >) a /
λόγον. ὅπερ μάλιστα ἔνδηλον Kal ἐν τοῖς κοτί-
\ lal \ \ ,
vols καὶ ἐν τοῖς καλάμοις" τὸ γὰρ γόνυ καθάπερ
wv \ « \ ᾽ ᾽ / ee τ nr
ὄζος. Kal οἱ μὲν κατ᾿ ἀλλήλους, ὥσπερ οἱ τῶν
1. Plin, 10. 125. ὙΠῸ. Bo)
3 ταξιόζωτα conj. W.; ἀξιολογώτατα Ald.; ef. ταξίφυλλος,
1:.10..8. 4 Plin, 10: 122.
56
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 1. vit. 1-3
same kind. And in general mountain trees have
more knots than those of the plain, and those that
grow in dry spots than those that grow in marshes.
Again the way in which they are planted makes a
difference in this respect ; those trees that grow close
together are knotless and erect, those that grow far
apart have more knots and a more crooked growth ;
for it happens that the one class are in shade, the
others in full sun. Again the ‘male’ trees have
more knots than the ‘ female’ in those trees in which
both forms are found, as cypress silver-fir hop-horn-
beam cornelian cherry—for there is a kind called
‘female cornelian cherry’ (cornel)—and wild trees
have more knots than trees in cultivation: this is
true both in general and when we compare those of
the same kind, as the wild and cultivated forms of
olive fig and pear. All these have more knots in the
wild state; and in general those of closer growth
have this character more than those of open growth ;
for in fact the ‘male’ plants are of closer growth,
and so are the wild ones; except that in some cases,
as in box and nettle-tree, owing to the closer growth
there are no knots at all, or only a few.
1 Again the knots of some trees are irregular and
set at haphazard, while those of others are regular,
alike in their distance apart and in their number, as
has been said?; wherefore also they are called ‘ trees
with regular knots.’? 4 For of some the knots are,
as it were, at even distances, while in others the
distance between them is greater at the thick end of
the stem. And this proportion holds throughout.
This is especially evident in the wild olive and in
reeds—in which the joint corresponds to the knot in
trees. Again some knots are opposite one another,
57
THEOPHRASTUS
κοτίνων, οἱ δ᾽ ὡς ἔτυχεν. ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν δίοξα, τὰ
δὲ τρίοζα, τὰ δὲ πλείους ἔχοντα" ἔνια δὲ πεντάοζά
ἐστι. καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐλάτης ὀρθοὶ καὶ οἱ ὄζοι καὶ οἱ
κλάδοι ὥσπερ ἐμπεπηγότες, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οὔ. δι᾿
ὃ καὶ ἰσχυρὸν ἡ ἐλάτη. ἰδιώτατοι δὲ οἱ τῆς
μηλέας: ὅμοιοι γὰρ θηρίων προσώποις, εἷς μὲν ὁ
μέγιστος ἄλλοι δὲ περὶ αὐτὸν μικροὶ πλείους.
εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν ὄξων οἱ μὲν τυφλοί, οἱ δὲ γόνιμοι.
λέγω δὲ τυφλοὺς ἀφ᾽ ὧν μηδεὶς βλαστός. οὗτοι
δὲ καὶ φύσει καὶ πηρώσει γίνονται, ὅταν ἢ μὴ
λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάξηται ἢ καὶ ἀποκοπῇ καὶ οἷον
ἐπικαυθεὶς πηρωθῇ: γίνονται δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς
παχέσι τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, ἐνίων δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς
στελέχεσιν. ὅλως δὲ καὶ τοῦ ᾿στελέχους καὶ τοῦ
κλάδου καθ᾽ ὃ ἂν ἐπικόψη ἢ ἐπιτέμῃ τις, ὄξος
γίνεται καθαπερανεὶ διαιρῶν τὸ ἕν καὶ ποιῶν
ἑτέραν ἀρχήν, εἴτε διὰ τὴν πήρωσιν εἴτε δι’ ἄλλην
αἰτίαν: οὐ γὰρ δὴ κατὰ φύσιν τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς
πληγῆς.
Αἰεὶ δὲ ἐν ἅπασιν οἱ κλάδοι φαίνονται πολυο-
ζότεροι διὰ τὸ μήπω τἀνὰ μέσον προσηυξῆσθαι,
καθάπερ καὶ τῆς συκῆς οἱ "νεύβλαστοι τραχύ-
τατοι καὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου τὰ ἄκρα τῶν κλημάτων.
ὡς γὰρ ὄζος ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὕτω καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς
1 6 7.4: 19. ΞΕΡῚ 16. 1091
3 2,6. primary and secondary branches.
ait 2) eats be Ὁ Plint 16. ‘24:
8 cf. Arist. de iu. et sen. 3; Plin. 16. 125.
7 ὅταν stata πηρωθῇ conj. W. ; ἢ ὅταν ἡ μὴ λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάζηται
καὶ ἣ ἀποκοπὴ καί Ὁ ; ὅταν ἣ μὴ λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάζηται ἢ ἀποκοπῇ
P; ἢ ὅταν λυθῇ καὶ Ble ἢ ἀποκοπὴ καὶ οἱ οὐ Py; ὅταν ἣ
μὴ λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάζηται καὶ ἢ ἀποκοπῇ καὶ Ald. H.; q differs
widely.
58
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vin. 3-5
as those of the wild olive, while others are set at
random. Again some trees have double knots, some
treble,! some more at the same point ; some have as
many as five. ?In the silver-fir both the knots and
the smaller branches? are set at right angles, as if
they were stuck in, but in other trees they are not
so. And that is why the silver-fir is such a strong
tree. Most peculiar ὅ are the knots of the apple, for
they are like the faces of wild animals; there is one
large knot, and a number of small ones round it.
Again some knots are blind,® others productive; by
‘blind’ I mean those from which there is no growth.
These come to be so either by nature or by mutilation,
according as either the knot? is not free and so the
shoot does not make its way out, or, a bough having
been cut off, the place is mutilated, for example by
burning. Such knots occur more commonly in the
thicker boughs, and in some cases in the stem also.
And in general, wherever one chops or cuts part of
the stem or bough, a knot is formed, as though one
thing were made thereby into two and a fresh
growing point produced, the cause being the mutila-
tion or some other such reason ; for the effect of such
a blow cannot of course be ascribed to nature.
Again in all trees the branches always seem to
have more knots, because the intermediate parts §
have not yet developed, just as the newly formed
branches of the fig are the roughest,’ and in the
vine the highest!° shoots. 1!(For to the knot in other
8 2,6. the internodes ; till the branch is fully grown its
knots are closer together, and so seem more numerous: μήπω
Tava μέσον προσηυξῆσθαι conj. Sch.; μήπω tava μέσον προσκυ-
ζῆθαι Ὁ ; μήτ᾽ ἀνὰ μέσον προσκυζεῖσθαι MAId.; μήποτ᾽ ἀνάμεσον
προσηυξῆσθαι Po. 8.2.6. have most knots.
10 ¢.e. youngest. Ms Plin. 16.7125.
59
THEOPHRASTUS
ἐν ἀμπελῳ και ἐν καλάμῳ γονυ . .. ἐνίοις δὲ
καὶ οἷον κράδαι γίνονται, καθάπερ πτελέᾳ καὶ
δρυὶ καὶ μάλιστα ἐν πλατάνῳ: ἐὰν δὲ ἐ ἐν τραχέσι
καὶ ἀνύδροις καὶ πνευματώδεσι καὶ παντελῶς.
πάντως δὲ πρὸς τῇ γῇ καὶ οἷον τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῦ
στελέχους ἀπογηρασκόντων τὸ πάθος τοῦτο
γίνεται.
"Evia δὲ καὶ ἴσχει τοὺς καλουμένους ὑπο τινῶν
ἢ γόγγρους ἢ τὸ ἀνάλογον, οἷον ἡ ἐλάα' κυριώ-
\
τατον γὰρ ἐπὶ ταύτης τοῦτο τοὔνομα καὶ πάσχειν
δοκεῖ μάλιστα τὸ εἰρημένον: καλοῦσι δ᾽ ἔνιοι
τοῦτο πρέμνον οἱ δὲ κροτώνην οἱ δὲ ἄλλο ὄνομα.
τοῖς δὲ εὐθέσι καὶ μονορρίξοις. καὶ ἀπαραβλά.
στοις οὐ γίνεται τοῦθ᾽ ὅλως ἢ ἧττον' [φοῖνιξ δὲ
παραβλαστητικόν"] ἡ δὲ ἐλάα καὶ ὁ κότινος
καὶ τὰς οὐλότητας ἰδίας ἔχουσι τὰς ἐν τοῖς
στελέχεσι.
IX, Ἔστι μὲν οὖν τὰ μὲν ὡς εἰς μῆκος αὐξη-
τικὰ μάλιστ᾽ ἢ μόνον, οἷον ἐλάτη φοῖνιξ κυπά-
ριττος καὶ ὅλως τὰ μονοστελέχη καὶ ὅσα μὴ
πολύρριξα μηδὲ πολύκλαδα' «ἡ δὲ φοῖνιξ a ἀπαρα-
βλαστητικόν""» τὰ δὲ ὁμοῖα τούτοις ἀνὰ λόγον
καὶ εἰς βάθος. ἔνια δ᾽ εὐθὺς σχίζεται, οἷον ἡ
1 The opening of the description of the diseases of trees
seems to have been lost. ~ 2 κράδαι; Ci) OY PR ake 5 Mead ge
3 πάντως. .. γίνεται conj. W.; πάντως δὲ ὁ πρὸς TH γῇ Kal
οἷον τ. kK. στ. ἀπογηράσκων τῶν παχυτέρων γίνεται Ald.; so U
except παχύτερον, and M except παχύτερος-.
4 “γόγγρους : cf. Hesych., 8.vv. γόγγρος, κροτώνη.
5 '{he word is otherwise unknown.
6 ἧττον: ἡ δὲ €Ada conj. W.; ἧττον: 7 δὲ φοῖνιξ πάραβλασ-
nrixdv: ἡ δὲ ἐλάα U; so Ald. except παραβλαστικόν. The
60
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vin. 5-1x. 1
trees correspond the ‘eye’ in the vine, the joint in
the reed): sai 1 In some trees again there occurs,
as it were, a diseased formation of small shoots,? as
in elm oak and especially in the plane; and this is
universal if they grow in rough waterless or windy
spots. Apart from any such cause? this affection
occurs near the ground in what one may call the
‘head ’ of the trunk, when the tree is getting old.
Some trees again have what are called by some
‘ excrescences 6 (or something corresponding), as the
olive ; for this name belongs most properly to that
tree, and it seems most liable to the affection; and
some call it ‘stump, some frotone,® others have a
different name for it. It does not occur, or only
occurs to a less extent, in straight young trees, which
have a single root and no side-growths. To the
olive® also, both wild and cultivated, are peculiar
certain thickenings ’ in the stem.
As to habit.
IX. 8 Now those trees which grow chiefly or only 9
in the direction of their height are such as silver-fir
date-palm cypress, and in general those which have
a single stem and not many roots or branches (the
date-palm, it may be added, has no side-growths at
all1°). And trees like! these have also similar growth
downwards. Some however divide from the first,
note about the palm (φοῖνιξ δὲ παραβλαστητικόν) I have omitted
as untrue as well as irrelevant ; possibly with ἀπαραβα. for
mapa8a. it belongs to the next section.
7 οὐλότητας conj. W.; κοιλότητας MSS. (2?) Ald.
5. Plin. 10. 125:
9 μάλιστ᾽ ἢ μόνον conj. W.; μάλιστα μανὰ Ald. H.
10 See 3. 8. 6. n.
1 ὅμοια conj. Sch.; duofws MSS. Sense hardly satisfactory.
61
THEOPHRASTUS
μηλέα: τὰ δὲ πολύκλαδα Kal μείζω τὸν ὄγκον
ἔχει τὸν ἄνω, καθάπερ poa: ov μὴν ἀλλ᾽ οὗν
μέγιστά γε συμβάλλεται πρὸς ἕκαστον n ἀγωγὴ
καὶ ὁ τόπος καὶ ἡ τροφή. σημεῖον δ᾽ ὅτι ταὐτὰ
πυκνὰ μὲν ὄντα μακρὰ καὶ λεπτὰ γίνεται, μανὰ
δὲ παχύτερα καὶ βραχύτερα: καὶ ἐὰν μὲν εὐθύς
τις ἀφιῇ τοὺς ὄζους βραχέα, ἐὰν δὲ ἀνακαθαίρῃ
μακρά, καθάπερ ἡ ἄμπελος.
Ἱκανὸν δὲ κἀκεῖνο πρὸς πίστιν ὅτι καὶ τῶν
λαχάνων ἔνια λαμβάνει δένδρου σχῆμα, καθάπερ
εἴπομεν. τὴν μαλάχην καὶ τὸ τεῦτλον" ἅπαντα
δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις τόποις εὐαυξῆ. . . KAL TO αὐτὸ
κάλλιστον. ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ὁμογενῶν ἀνοζότερα
καὶ μείζω καὶ καλλίω τὰ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις, οἷον
ἐλάτη ἡ Μακεδονικὴ τῆς ἸΠαρνασίας καὶ τῶν ἄλ-
λων. ἅπαντα δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ὅλως ἡ ὕλη ἡ ἀγρία
καλλίων καὶ πλείων τοῦ ὄρους ἐν τοῖς προσβο-
ρείοις ἢ ἐν τοῖς πρὸς μεσημβρίαν.
Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἀείφυλλα τὰ δὲ φυλλο-
βόλα. τῶν μὲν ἡμέρων ἀείφυλλα ἐλάα φοῖνιξ
δάφνη “μύρρινος πεύκης TL γένος κυπάριττος" τῶν
: ἀγρίων ἐλάτη πεύκη ἄρκευθος piros θυία καὶ
ν ᾿Αρκάδες καλοῦσι φελλόδρυν φιλυρέα κέδρος
a ἀγρία μυρίκη πύξος πρῖνος κήλαστρον
φιλύκη ὀξυάκανθος ἀφάρκη, ταῦτα δὲ φύεται
περὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον, ἀνδράνλη κόμαρος τέρμινθος
1 οὖν marked as doubtful in U. ἘΠῚ 3.92,
3 καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κάλλιστον. The first part of the sentence to
which these words belong is apparently lost (W.).
4 i.e, the fir and other trees mentioned in the lost words.
5 Plin. 16. 80.
6 μίλος con}. Sch.; σμίλαξ P,Ald.; ef. 3. 3. ὃ.
62
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 1. rx. 1-3
such as apple; some have many branches, and thei:
greater mass of growth high up, as the pomegranate :
however! training position and cultivation chiefly
contribute to all of these characters. In proof of
which we have the fact that the same trees which,
when growing close together, are tall and slender,
when grown farther apart become stouter and
shorter; and if we from the first let the branches
grow freely, the tree becomes short, whereas, if we
prune them, it becomes tall,—-for instance, the vine.
This too is enough for proof that even some pot-
herbs acquire the form of a tree, as we said? of
mallow and beet. Indeed all things grow well in
congenial places... .2 For even among those of the
same kind those which grow in congenial places have
less knots, and are taller and more comely: thus the
silver-fir in Macedon is superior to other silver-firs,
such as that of Parnassus. Not only is this true of
all these, but in general the wild woodland is more
beautiful and vigorous on the north side of the
mountain than on the south.
As to shedding of leaves.
Again some ® trees are evergreen, some deciduous.
Of cultivated trees, olive date-palm bay myrtle a
kind of fir and cypress are evergreen, and among
wild trees silver-fir fir Phoenician cedar yew ® odorous
cedar the tree which the Arcadians call ‘ cork-oak ’
(holm-oak) mock-privet prickly cedar ‘wild’ pine’
tamarisk box kermes-oak holly alaternus cotoneaster
hybrid arbutus® (all of which grow about Olympus)
7 ἀγρία after πίτυς conj. Sch.; after πρῖνος UPAId.: ef.
3. 3. 3.
8 κόμαρος conj. Bod.; civapos UMV; otvapos Ald.; σύναρος P,.
63
THEOPHRASTUS
A > ΄
ἀγρία δάφνη. δοκεῖ δ᾽ ἡ ἀνδράχλη καὶ ὁ κόμαρος
\ \ / a \ \ » al
Ta μὲν κάτω φυλλοβολεῖν ta δὲ ἔσχατα τῶν
» / eee ” > / \ ΨῈΝ \
ἀκρεμόνων ἀείφυλλα ἔχειν, ἐπιφύειν δὲ ἀεὶ τοὺς
ἀκρεμόνας.
Τῶν μὲν οὖν δένδρων ταῦτα. τῶν δὲ θαμνω-
a \
δῶν KiTTOs βάτος ῥάμνος κάλαμος κεδρίς" ἔστι
a a lal cal
γάρ τι μικρὸν ὃ οὐ δενδροῦται. τῶν δὲ φρυγανικῶν
καὶ ποιωδῶν πήγανον ῥάφανος ῥοδωνία ἰωνία
> , 5) 7 “ ἌΝ ,
ἀβρότονον ἀμάρακον ἕρπυλλος ὀρίγανον σέλινον
ἱπποσέλινον μήκων καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων εἴδη πλείω.
διαμένει δὲ καὶ τούτων ἔνια τοῖς ἄκροις τὰ δὲ
ἄλλα ἀποβάλλει οἷον ὀρίγανον σέλινον. .. ἐπεὶ
καὶ τὸ πήγανον κακοῦται καὶ ἀλλάττεται.
Πάντα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τὰ ἀείφυλλα στενο-
/ ,
φυλλότερα καὶ ἔχοντά τινα λιπαρότητα καὶ
2 5) a
εὐωδίαν. ἔνια δ᾽ οὐκ ὄντα τῇ φύσει Tapa τὸν
/ lal
τόπον ἐστὶν ἀείφυλλα, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη περὶ τῶν
> 9 , Longs : 7 » 9 n
ev Ἐλεφαντίνῃ καὶ Μέμφει κατωτέρω δ᾽ ἐν τῷ
Qn \ ‘
Δέλτα μικρὸν πάνυ χρόνον διαλείπει τοῦ μὴ ἀεὶ
/ > 4 M / / ,
βλαστάνειν. ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ λέγεται πλάτανόν
a Ψ \ a
τινα εἶναι ἐν TH Voptuvaia πρὸς πηγῇ τινι ἣ οὐ
φυλλοβολεῖ: μυθολογοῦσι δὲ ὡς ὑπὸ ταύτῃ
SF = ae ς , \ \ , , 3
ἐμίγη τῇ Εὐρώπῃ ὁ Ζεύς: tas δὲ πλησίας πάσας
lad \ a
φυλλοβολεῖν. ἐν δὲ Συβάρει δρῦς ἐστιν ev-
lol “ ἃ a ‘
σύνοπτος ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἣ οὐ φυλλοβολεῖ: φασὶ
1 Plin. 16. 80.
2 Some words probably missing (W.) which would explain
the next two clauses. 8 Plin. 16. 82. 5. Ὁ:
& Phins 32, bl; Varro, ΙΝ ἧς
64
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1x. 3-5
andrachne arbutus terebinth ‘wild bay’ (oleander).
Andrachne and arbutus seem to cast their lower
leaves, but to keep those at the end of the twigs
perennially, and to be always adding leafy twigs.
These are the trees which are evergreen.
1 Of shrubby plants these are evergreen :—ivy
bramble buckthorn reed εάν (juniper)—for there
is a small kind of kedros so called which does not
grow into a tree. Among under-shrubs and herba-
ceous plants there are rue cabbage rose gilliflower
southernwood sweet marjoram tufted thyme mar-
joram celery alexanders poppy, and a good many
more kinds of wild plants However some of these
too, while evergreen as to their top growths, shed
their other leaves, as marjoram andcelery ..... 2
for rue too is injuriously affected and changes its
character.
3 And all the evergreen plants in the other classes
too have narrower leaves and a certain glossiness and
fragrance. Some moreover which are not evergreen
by nature become so because of their position, as
was 5814 4 about the plants at Elephantine and
Memphis, while lower down the Nile in the Delta
there is but a very short period in which they are not
making new leaves. It is said that in Crete in the
district of Gortyna there is a plane near a certain
spring ® which does not lose its leaves; (indeed the
story is that it was under’ this tree that Zeus lay
with Europa), while all the other plants in the
neighbourhood shed theirleaves. ὃ At Sybaris there
is an oak within sight of the city which does not shed
ὃ πηγῇ conj. H. from G ; σκηνῇ UMVAId.; κηνῆ Pa; κρηνῇ
m Bas.
7 ὑπὸ conj. Hemsterhuis ; ἐπὶ Ald. 56 Β11π| 10 81.
65
THEOPHRASTUS
δὲ οὐ βλαστάνειν αὐτὴν ἅμα ταῖς ἄλλαις ἀλλὰ
μετὰ Κύνα. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἐν Κύπρῳ πλάτανος
εἶναι τοιαύτη.
Φυλλοβολεῖ δὲ πάντα τοῦ μετοπώρου καὶ μετὰ
Ν Α͂ \ \ \ an \ \ /
TO μετόπωρον, πλὴν TO μὲν θᾶττον τὸ δὲ βραδύ-
τερον ὥστε καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐπιλαμβάνειν. οὐκ
e , lal
ἀνάλογοι δὲ αἱ φυλλοβολίαι ταῖς βλαστήσεσιν,
Lé ,
ὥστε Ta πρότερον βλαστήσαντα πρότερον φυλ-
a ᾽ , “" n
λοβολεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔνια πρωϊβλαστεῖ μὲν οὐδὲν δὲ
n n Μ > / A ¢€ a
TPOTEPEL τῶν ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ τινων καὶ VOTEPEL,
Ly a eae J n
καθάπερ ἡ ἀμυγδαλῆ.
Ἂς a a
Ta δὲ ὀψιβλαστεῖ μὲν οὐδὲν δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν
ς a a " σ΄ ς ΄ n \
ὑστερεῖ τῶν ἄλλων, ὥσπερ ἡ συκάμινος. δοκεῖ δὲ
AAS ΄ 4 ΠῚ ΄ Εἴ ἂν
καὶ ἡ χώρα συμβάλλεσθαι καὶ ὁ τόπος ὁ ἔνικμος
\ tal a
πρὸς TO διαμένειν. τὰ yap ἐν τοῖς ξηροῖς καὶ
¢ / a
ὅλως λεπτογείοις πρότερα φυλλοβολεῖ Kal τὰ
πρεσβύτερα δὲ τῶν νέων. ἔνια δὲ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ
πεπᾶναι τὸν καρπὸν ἀποβάλλει τὰ φύλλα, καθά-
περ αἱ ὄψιαι συκαῖ καὶ ἀχράδες.
fal >
Τῶν δ᾽ ἀειφύλλων ἡ ἀποβολὴ Kal ἡ αὔανσις
\ / ’ \ \ > ἊΝ pee / 2 \
κατὰ μέρος" οὐ yap δὴ ταὐτὰ αἰεὶ διαμένει, ἀλλὰ
Ν \ >! / \ ’ > ΄ “
τὰ μὲν ἐπιβλαστάνει τὰ δ᾽ ἀφαναίνεται. τοῦτο
δὲ περὶ τροπὰς μάλιστα γίνεται θερινάς. εἰ δέ
\ a. 3 a x \ 9ὲ a “
τίνων καὶ μετ᾽ ᾿Αρκτοῦρον ἢ καὶ KAT ἄλλην ὡραν
ΑἹ / \ \ \ \ \
ἐπισκεπτέον. καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὴν φυλλο-
βολίαν οὕτως ἔχει.
1 Plin. 16. 82 and 83.
66
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1x. 5-7
its leaves, and they say that it does not come into
leaf along with the others, but only after the rising
of the dog-star. It is said that in Cyprus too there
is a plane which has the same peculiarity.
1 The fall of the leaves in all cases takes place in
autumn or later, but it occurs later in some trees
than in others, and even extends into the winter.
However the fall of the leaf does not correspond to
the growth of new leaves (in which case those that
come into leaf earlier would lose their leaves earlier),
but some (such as the almond) which are early in
coming into leaf are not earlier than the rest in
losing their leaves, but are even comparatively
late.?
3 Others again, such as the mulberry, come into
leaf late, but are hardly at ail later than the others
in shedding their leaves. It appears also that position
and a moist situation conduce to keeping the leaves
late; for those which grow in dry places, and in
general where the soil is light, shed their leaves
earlier, and the older trees earlier than young ones.
Some even cast their leaves before the fruit is ripe,
as the late kinds of fig and pear.
In those which are evergreen the shedding and
withering of leaves take place by degrees; for it is
not the same? leaves which always persist, but fresh
ones are growing while the old ones wither away.
This happens chiefly about the summer solstice.
Whether in some cases it occurs even after the rising
of Arcturus or at a quite different season is matter for
enquiry. So much for the shedding of leaves.
2 ὑστερεῖ conj. H.; ὕστερον UMVPAId.
3 Plin. 16. 84.
4 ταὐτὰ conj. Sch.; ταῦτα Ald.
67
THEOPHRASTUS
Ta δὲ φύλλα τῶν μὲν ἄλλων δένδρων ὅμοια
\ aA iol an
πάντων αὐτὰ ἑαυτοῖς, τῆς δὲ λεύκης Kal τοῦ
ἴω a / , > ᾿ς
κιττοῦ καὶ τοῦ καλουμένου κρότωνος ἀνόμοια καὶ
΄ \ \ \ / a \
ἑτεροσχήμονα" τὰ μὲν yap νέα περιφερῆ τὰ δὲ
, a n
παλαιότερα γωνοειδῆ, Kal εἰς τοῦτο ἡ μετάστασις
πάντων. τοῦ δὲ κιττοῦ ἀνάπαλιν νέου μὲν ὄντος
/ \
ἐγγωνιώτερα πρεσβυτέρου δὲ περιφερέστερα: μετα-
/ \ \ 2 wv \ \ μι δὲ ἂν Ὁ \
βάλλει yap καὶ οὗτος. ἴδιον δὲ καὶ τὸ τῇ ἐλάᾳ Kal
a / \ A / \ a 4 ΕΣ
τῇ φιλύρᾳ καὶ τῇ πτελέᾳ καὶ τῇ λεύκῃ συμβαῖνον'
, a Net ἴῷ
στρέφειν yap δοκοῦσιν τὰ ὕπτια μετὰ τροπὰς θερι-
, τ
vas, καὶ τούτῳ γνωρίζουσιν ὅτι γεγένηνται τροπαί.
/ Ni \ / / \ Ne cee \ \
πάντα δὲ τὰ φύλλα διαφέρει κατὰ τὰ ὕπτια καὶ TA
an x “ \ / Ne
πρανῆ. καὶ TOV μὲν ἄλλων τὰ ὕπτια ποιωδέστερα
\ / \ \ a \ \ / ?
καὶ λειότερα: τὰς yap ἶνας καὶ Tas φλέβας ἐν
“ , /
τοῖς πρανέσιν ἔχουσιν, ὥσπερ ἡ χεὶρ «τὰ apOpa>-
a 7 / , e a
τῆς © ἐλάας λευκότερα καὶ ἧττον λεῖα ἐνίοτε
\ tal) a
καὶ τὰ ὕπτια. πάντα δὴ ἢ Ta γε πλεῖστα ἐκφανῆ
ἔχει τὰ ὕπτια καὶ ταῦτα γίνεται τῷ ἡλίῳ φανερά.
\ \ «
καὶ στρέφεται TA πολλὰ πρὸς TOV ἥλιον" δι᾽ ὃ Kal
> lal ς ΄ \ an n na
οὐ ῥάδιον εἰπεῖν ὁπότερον πρὸς τῷ κλῶνι μᾶλλόν
\ \ δ / a a a
ἐστιν: ἡ μὲν γὰρ ὑπτιότης μᾶλλον δοκεῖ ποιεῖν TO
/ «ς Ν , bd δ vd Ἀν τὸ
πρανές, ἡ δὲ φύσις οὐχ ἧττον βούλεται τὸ ὕπτιον,
\
ἄλλως TE καὶ ἡ ἀνάκλασις διὰ TOV ἥλιον: ἴδοι δ᾽
? Ph. 10. 80.
2 καὶ τοῦ κιττοῦ καὶ τοῦ MSS. cf. Plin. l.c.; Diose. 4. 164.
καὶ τοῦ κικίου τοῦ καὶ conj. W.; Galen, Lex. Hipp., gives
κίκιον aS a name for the root of κρότων. cf. C.P. 2. 16. 4.
3. 2.6. ποῦ ‘entire.’ ‘Young leaves’=leaves of the young tree.
4 This seems to contradict what has just been said.
5 τὰ ἄρθρα add. Sch. from Plin. 16. 88, inciswras. ef. Arist.
H.A. 1. 15, where Plin, (11. 274) renders ἄρθρα incisuras.
68
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. 1-2
Differences in leaves,
X. 1 Now, while the leaves of all other trees are
all alike in each tree, those of the abele ivy? and
of the plant called sroton (castor-oil plant) are
unlike one another and of different forms. The
young leaves in these are round, the old ones
angular,? and eventually all the leaves assume that
form. On the other hand? in the ivy, when it is
young, the leaves are somewhat angular, but when
it is older, they become rounder: for in this plant
too a change of form takes place. There is a
peculiarity special to the olive lime elm and abele:
their leaves appear to invert the upper surface after
the summer solstice, and by this men know that the
solstice is past. Now all leaves differ as to their
upper and under surfaces; and in most trees the
upper surfaces are greener and smoother, as they
have the fibres and veins in the under surfaces, even
as the human hand has its ‘lines,’ but even the upper
surface of the leaf of the olive is sometimes whiter
and less smooth.® So all or most leaves display
their upper surfaces, and it is these surfaces which
are exposed to the light.” Again most leaves turn
towards the sun; wherefore also it is not easy to say
which surface is next to the twig’; for, while the
way in which the upper surface is presented seems
rather to make the under surface closer to it, yet
nature desires equally that the upper surface should
be the nearer, and this is specially seen in the
turning back® of the leaf towards the sun. One
8 ἐνίοτε καὶ τὰ ὕπτια conj. W.; λεῖα δὲ καὶ τὰ τοῦ κιττοῦ
MSS. A makeshift correction of an obscure passage.
© of.selinwt<c: 8 2,6. is the under one.
® Whereby the under surface is exposed to it: see above.
69
ὡ»
THEOPHRASTUS
ἄν τις ὅσα πυκνὰ καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλληλα, καθάπερ τὰ
τῶν μυρρίνων.
Οἴονται δέ τινες καὶ τὴν τροφὴν τῷ ὑπτίῳ διὰ
τοῦ πρανοῦς εἶναι, διὰ τὸ ἔνικμον ἀεὶ τοῦτο καὶ
χνοῶδες εἶναι, οὐ καλῶς λέγοντες. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο
μὲν ἴσως συμβαίνει χωρὶς τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως καὶ
διὰ τὸ μὴ ὁμοίως ἡλιοῦσθαι, ἡ ἡ δὲ τροφὴ διὰ τῶν
φλεβῶν ἢ ἢ ἰνῶν ὁμοίως ἀμφοτέροις" ἐκ θατέρου δ᾽
εἰς θάτερον οὐκ εὔλογον μὴ ἔχουσι πόρους μηδὲ
βάθος δι’ ov: ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τροφῆς διὰ τίνων
ἕτερος λόγος.
Διαφέρουσι. δὲ καὶ τὰ φύλλα πλείοσι δια-
φοραῖς" τὰ μὲν γάρ ἐστι πλατύφυλλα, καθάπερ
ἄμπελος συκῆ πλάτανος, τὰ δὲ στενόφυλλα,
καθάπερ ἐλάα ῥόα μύρρινος: τὰ δ᾽ ὥσπερ ἀκανθό-
φυλλα, καθάπερ “πεύκη πίτυς κέδρος" τὰ δ᾽ οἷον
σαρκόφυλλα: τοῦτο δ᾽ ὅτι σαρκῶδες ἔχουσι τὸ
φύλλον, οἷον κυπάριττος μυρίκη μηλέα, τῶν δὲ
φρυγανικῶν κνέωρος στοιβὴ καὶ ποιωδῶν ἀείζωον
πόλιον: [τοῦτο δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς σῆτας τοὺς ἐν
τοῖς ἱματίοις ἀγαθόν"] τὰ γὰρ αὖ τῶν τευτλίων
ἢ ῥαφάνων ἄλλον τρόπον σαρκώδη. καὶ τὰ τῶν
πηγανίων καλουμένων" ἐν πλάτει γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἐν
στρογγυλότητι τὸ σαρκῶδες. καὶ τῶν θαμνωδῶν
δὲ ἡ μυρίκη σαρκῶδες τὸ φύλλον ἔχει. ἔνια δὲ
1. 8. 35 W083 Plin. 16. 92:
ἐκ θατέρου δ᾽ εἰς con): Sch. from G; δὲ ἐκ θατέρου εἰς with
stop αὖ ἰνῶν Ald. 3 δι’ οὗ I conj.; δύ ὧν U.
4 ἀκανθόφυλλα conj. W.; σπανόφυλλα UMAIA.; ἀνόφυλλα
P,; ef. 3. 9. 5, whence Sch. conj. τριχόφυλλα : Plin. l.c. has
capillate pino cedro.
5 μηλέα probably corrupt ; omitted by Plin. /.c.
70
ENQUIRY UNTO PLANTS, 1. x. 2-5
may observe this in trees whose leaves are crowded
and opposite,! such as those of myrtle.
Some think that the nourishment too is conveyed to
the upper surface through the under surface, because
this surface always contains moisture and is downy,
but they are mistaken. It may be that this is not
due to the trees’ special character, but to their not
getting an equal amount of sunshine, though the
nourishment conveyed through the veins or fibres
is the same in both cases. That it should be con-
veyed from one side to the other? is improbable,
when there are no passages for it nor thickness for it
to pass through.? However it belongs to another
part of the enquiry to discuss the means by which
nourishment is conveyed.
Again there are various other differences between
leaves; some trees are broad-leaved, as vine fig and
plane, some narrow-leaved, as olive pomegranate
myrtle. Some have, as it were, spinous‘ leaves,
as fir Aleppo pine prickly cedar; some, as it were,
fleshy leaves; and this is because their leaves are of
fleshy substance, as cypress tamarisk apple,> among
under-shrubs f‘neoros and stoibe, and among herba-
ceous plants house-leek and hulwort. © This plant
is good against moth in clothes. For the leaves of
beet and cabbage are fleshy in another way, as are
those of the various plants called rue ; for their fleshy
character is seen in the flat instead of in the round.’
Among shrubby plants the tamarisk® has fleshy
5 Probably a gloss.
7 Or ‘solid,’ such leaves being regarded as having, so to
speak, three, and not two dimensions. στρόγγυλος = ‘ thick-
set,’ in Arist. HA. 9. 44.
8 μυρίκη probably corrupt ; μ. was mentioned just above,
among trees; ἐρείκη conj. Dalec.
ΠῚ
THEOPHRASTUS
καὶ καλαμόφυλλα, καθάπερ ὁ φοῖνιξ καὶ ὁ κὀὶϊξ
καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα: ταῦτα δὲ ὡς καθ᾽ ὅλου εἰπεῖν
γωνιόφυλλα: καὶ γὰρ ὁ κάλαμος καὶ ὁ κύπειρος
καὶ ὁ βούτομος καὶ τἄλλα δὲ τῶν λιμνωδῶν
τοιαῦτα: πάντα δὲ ὥσπερ ἐκ δυοῖν σύνθετα καὶ
τὸ μέσον οἷον τρόπις, οὗ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις μέγας
πόρος ὁ μέσος. διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς σχήμασι:
τὰ μὲν γὰρ περιφερῆ, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς ἀπίου, τὰ
é προμηκέστερα, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς μηλέας" τὰ δὲ
εἰς ὀξὺ προήκοντα καὶ παρακανθίξζοντα, καθάπερ
Ta τοῦ μίλακος. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἄσχιστα" «τὰ δὲ
σχιστὰξ- καὶ οἷον πριονώδη, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς
ἐλάτης καὶ τὰ τῆς πτερίδος: τρόπον δέ τινα
σχιστὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀμπέλου, καὶ τὰ τῆς συκῆς
δὲ ὥσπερ ἂν εἴποι τις κορωνοποδώδη. ἔνια δὲ
καὶ ἐντομὰς ἔχοντα, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς πτελέας καὶ
τὰ τῆς Ἡρακλεωτικῆς καὶ τὰ τῆς δρυός. τὰ δὲ
καὶ παρακανθίζοντα καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρου καὶ ἐκ τῶν
πλαγίων, οἷον τὰ τῆς πρίνου καὶ τὰ τῆς δρυὸς
καὶ μίλακος καὶ βάτου καὶ παλιούρου καὶ τὰ τῶν
ἄλλων. ἀκανθῶδες δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων καὶ τὸ τῆς
πεύκης καὶ πίτυος καὶ ἐλάτης ἔτι δὲ κέδρου καὶ
κεδρίδος. φυλλάκανθον δὲ ὅλως ἐν μὲν τοῖς
δένδροις οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν ὧν ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν, ἐν δὲ
τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑλήμασίν ἐστιν, οἷον ἥ τε ἄκορνα καὶ
ἡ δρυπὶς καὶ ὁ ἄκανος καὶ σχεδὸν ἅπαν τὸ τῶν
ἀκανωδῶν γένος: ὥσπερ γὰρ φύλλον ἐστὶν ἡ
ἄκανθα πᾶσιν" εἰ δὲ μὴ φύλλα τις ταῦτα θήσει,
1 Plin. 10: and 13. 30. 2 οὗ ἐν conj. W.; ὅθεν Ald. H.
3 παρακανθίζοντα conj. Sch.; παραγωνίζοντα UMV Ald.
4 τὰ δὲ σχιστὰ add. W.
2
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. 5-6
leaves. Some again have reedy leaves, as date-palin
doum-palm and such like. But, generally speaking,
the leaves of these end in a point; for reeds galin-
gale sedge and the leaves of other marsh plants are
of this character. 1 The leaves of all these are com-
pounded of two parts, and the middle is like a keel,
placed where in? other leaves is a large passage
dividing the two halves. Leaves differ also in their
shapes ; some are round, as those of pear, some
rather oblong, as those of the apple ; some come to a
sharp point and have spinous projections? at the
side, as those of smilax. So far 1 have spoken ot
undivided leaves; but some are divided‘ and like
a saw, as those of silver-fir and of fern. To a
certain extent those of the vine are also divided,
while those of the fig one might compare to a crow’s
foot.£ © Some leaves again have notches, as those of
elm filbert and oak, others have spinous projections
both at the tip and at the edges, as those of kermes-
oak oak smilax bramble Christ’s thorn and others.
The leaf of fir Aleppo pine silver-fir and also of prickly
cedar and fedris (juniper)’ has a spinous point at
the tip. Among other trees there is none that we
know which has spines for leaves altogether, but it
is so with other woody plants, as akorna drypis pine-
thistle and almost all the plants which belong to
that class. For in all these spines, as it were, take
the place of leaves, and, if one is not to reckon these
5 κορωνοποδώδη conj. Gesner. The fig-leaf is compared to a
crow’s foot, Plut. de defect. orac. 3; σκολοπώδη Ald., which
word is applied to thorns by Diosc. 8 Plin. 16. 90.
7 κεδρίδος conj. Dalec.; κεδρίας MSS. cf. Plin. U.c., who
seems to have read aypias.
8 ἀκανωδῶν conj. W., cf. 1. 18, ὃ; ἀκανθωδῶν MSS.; ἀκαν-
dav P,.
73
THEOPHRASTUS
συμβαίνοι ἃ ἂν ὅλως ἄφυλλα εἶναι, ἐνίοις δὲ ἄκανθαν
μὲν εἶναι φύλλον δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔχειν, καθάπερ 6
ἀσφάραγος.
Πάλιν δ᾽ ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἄμισχα, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς
σκίλλης καὶ τοῦ βολβοῦ, τὰ δ᾽ ἔχοντα «μίσχον.
καὶ τὰ μὲν μακρόν, οἷον ἡ ἄμπελος καὶ ὁ κιττός,
τὰ δὲ βραχὺν καὶ οἷον ἐμπεφυκότα, καθάπερ édaa
καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς πλατάνου καὶ ἀμπέλου
προσηρτημένον. διαφορὰ δὲ καὶ τὸ μὴ ἐκ τῶν
αὐτῶν εἶναι τὴν πρόσφυσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν
πλείστοις ἐκ τῶν κλάδων τοῖς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν
ἀκρεμόνων, τῆς δρυὸς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους,
τῶν δὲ λαχανωδῶν τοῖς πολλοῖς εὐθὺς ἐκ τῆς
ῥίζης, οἷον κρομύου σκόρδου κιχορίου, ἔτι δὲ
ἀσφοδέλου σκίλλης βολβοῦ σισυριγχίου καὶ
ὅλως τῶν βολβωδῶν' καὶ τούτων δὲ οὐχ ἡ πρώτη
μόνον ἔκφυσις ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅλος ὁ καυλὸς ἄφυλλον.
ἐνίων δ᾽ ὅταν γένηται, φύλλα εἰκός, οἷον θριδακίνης
ὠκίμου σελίνου καὶ τῶν σιτηρῶν ὁμοίως. ἔχει
δ᾽ ἔνια τούτων καὶ τὸν καυλὸν εἶτ᾽ ἀκανθίζοντα,
ὡς ἡ θριδακίνη καὶ τὰ φυλλάκανθα πάντα καὶ
τῶν θαμνωδῶν δὲ καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον, οἷον βάτος
παλίουρος.
Κοινὴ δὲ διαφορὰ πάντων ὁμοίως δένδρων καὶ
τῶν ἄλλων ὅτι τὰ μὲν πολύφυλλα τὰ δ᾽ ὀλιγό-
φυλλα. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν τὰ πλατύφυλλα ταξί-
φυλλα, καθάπερ μύρρινος, τὰ δ᾽ ἄτακτα καὶ ὡς
ἔτυχε, καθώπερ σχεδὸν τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ἄλλων
1 “Phin. 16. ‘SI: 2 ἐπὶ conj. W.; ἢ Ald.H.
3 ἐνίων... εἰκός. So Sch. explains: text probably de-
fective.
74
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. 6-8
as leaves, they would be entirely leafless, and some
would have spines but no leaves at all, as asparagus.
1 Again there is the difference that some leaves
have no leaf-stalk, as those of squill and _purse-
tassels, while others have a leaf-stalk. And some
of the latter have a long leaf-stalk, as vine
and ivy, some, as olive, a short one which grows, as
it were, into the stem and is not simply attached to
it, as it isin? plane and vine. Another difference is
that the leaves do not in all cases grow from the
same part, but, whereas in most trees they grow from
the branches, in some they grow also from the twigs,
and in the oak from the stem as well; in most
pot-herbs they grow directly from the root, as in
onion garlic chicory, and also in asphodel squill
purse-tassels Barbary-nut, and generally in plants
of the same class as purse-tassels; and in these
not merely the original growth but the whole
stalk is leafless. In some, when the stalk is pro-
duced, the leaves may be expected to grow,® as in
lettuce basil celery, and in like manner in cereals.
In some of these the stalk presently becomes spinous,
as in lettuce and the whole class of plants with
spinous leaves, and still more in shrubby plants, as
bramble and Christ’s thorn.
4 Another difference which is found in all trees
alike and in other plants as well is that some have
many, some few leaves. And in general those that
have flat leaves® have them in a regular series, as
myrtle, while in other instances the leaves are in no
particular order, but set at random, as in most other
4 Plin. 16. 92.
5 πλατύφυλλα UVP; πολύφυλλα conj. W.; but πλατύτης is
one of the ‘ differences’ given in the summary below.
79
THEOPHRASTUS
= Ἂν ᾿ “ a 4 ΄
[ἦν]. ἴδιον δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν λαχανωδῶν, οἷον κρομύοι'
/, \ /
γητείου, TO κοιλοφυλλον.
« lal ς \ rn
Απλῶς δ᾽ ai διαφοραὶ τῶν φύλλων ἢ μεγέθει
, x / Ἃ
ἢ πλήθει ἢ σχήματι ἢ πλατύτητι ἢ στενότητι
4 x Ἃ / a
ἢ KOLAOTHTL ἢ τραχύτητι ἢ λειότητι καὶ τῷ Tap-
/ x / ΥΨ, \ \ \ 4
ακανθίζειν ἢ μή. ἔτι δὲ κατὰ τὴν πρόσφυσιν
ε΄ x ᾽ « \ Ν τ > \ ἐν Ὰ ΄
ὅθεν ἢ δι’ οὗ" τὸ μὲν ὅθεν, ἀπὸ ῥίζης ἢ κλάδου
Ἁ AtLaY 3 , \ N SNP A \ ,
ἢ καυλοῦ 1) ἀκρεμόνος: τὸ δὲ δι᾿ οὗ, ἢ διὰ μίσχου
a ? > a \ 2 \ \ οἰ a > fa \
ἢ δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰ δὴ πολλὰ ἐκ TOU αὐτοῦ. Kal
, \ ,
ἔνια καρποφύρα, μεταξὺ περιειληφότα Tov καρπόν,
/ ,
ὥσπερ ἡ ᾿Αλεξανδρεία δάφνη ἐπιφυλλόκαρπος.
Αἱ μὲν οὖν διαφοραὶ τῶν φύλλων κοινοτέρως
a /
πᾶσαι εἴρηνται Kal σχεδόν εἰσιν ἐν τούτοις.
SS ΄ δὲ \ \ IE SSS \ a \
(Σύγκειται δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐξ ἰνὸς Kal φλοιοῦ καὶ
Ν a fal \ na I
σαρκός, οἷον τὰ τῆς συκῆς Kal τῆς ἀμπέλου, τὰ δὲ
© “4 a ,
ὥσπερ ἐξ ἰνὸς μόνον, οἷον τοῦ καλάμου Kai σίτου.
, ¢
τὸ δὲ ὑγρὸν ἁπάντων κοινόν: ἅπασι yap ἐνυ-
/ \ n V4 a
πάρχει καὶ τούτοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἐπετείοις
Ἧ 7 n
[μίσχος ἄνθος καρπὸς εἴ Tt ἄλλο]: μᾶλλον δὲ Kai
a , ’ \ \ , 7 -
τοῖς μὴ ἐπετείοις" οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄνευ τούτου. δοκεῖ
a » \ \ beara! / a
δὲ Kal τῶν μίσχων τὰ μὲν ἐξ ἰνῶν μόνον συγκεῖ-
\ na ’, \ an
σθαι, καθάπερ τὰ τοῦ σίτου καὶ τοῦ καλάμου, τὰ
n nan 4 /
δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ οἱ καυλοί.
1 τῶν ἄλλων ἣν MSS.; τῶν ποιωδῶν conj. W. ἦν, at all
events, cannot be right. ΞΡ host LOU
3 ἢ στενότητι ἢ κοιλότητι : SO G3 ἢ κοιλότητι ἢ στενότητι
MSS. 4 2.6. petiolate. 5 7.e. sessile.
6 2.6. compound : εἰ δὴ conj. W.; εἴδη UMVAId.
7 The passage from here to the end of the chapter is a
digression,
76
ENQUIRY, “INTOMPLANTS; 1. x. 8-9
plants. ? It is peculiar to pot-herbs to have hollow
leaves, as in onion and horn-onion.
To sum up, the differences between leaves are
shewn in size, number, shape, hollowness, in breadth,?
roughness and their opposites, and in the presence or
absence of spinous projections; also as to their
attachment, according to the part from which they
spring or the means by which they are attached ;
the part from which they spring being the root or a
branch or the stalk or a twig, while the means by
which they are attached may be a leaf-stalk,* or they
may be attached directly;5 and there may be®
several leaves attached by the same _leaf-stalk.
Further some leaves are fruit-bearing, enclosing the
fruit between them, as the Alexandrian laurel, which
has its fruit attached to the leaves.
These are all the differences in leaves stated some-
what generally, and this is a fairly complete list of
examples.
Composition of the various parts of a plant.
7(Leaves are composed some of fibre bark and flesh,
as those of the fig and vine, some, as it were, of
fibre alone, as those of reeds and corn. But moisture
is common to all, for it is found both in leaves and in
the other annual parts,® leaf-stalk, flower, fruit and so
forth but more especially in the parts which are
not annual ®; in fact no part is without it. Again it
appears that some leaf-stalks are composed only of
fibre, as those of corn and reeds, some of the same
materials as the stalks.
ὃ μίσχος . . . ἄλλο has no construction ; probably a (correct)
gloss, taken from 1, 2, 1.
9 2.6. while these are young, W.
7
LO
THEOPHRASTUS
Τῶν δ᾽ ἀνθῶν τὰ μὲν ἐκ φλοιοῦ καὶ φλεβὸς, καὶ
σαρκός, «τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ σαρκὸς:- μόνον, οἷον τὰ ἐν μέσῳ
τῶν ἄρων.
Ὁμοίως. δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καρπῶν' οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ
σαρκὸς καὶ ἰνός, οἱ δὲ ἐκ σαρκὸς “μόνον, οἱ δὲ καὶ
ἐκ δέρματος σύγκεινται" τὸ δὲ ὑγρὸν ἀκολουθεῖ
καὶ τούτοις. ἐκ σαρκὸς μὲν καὶ ἰνὸς ὁ τῶν
κοκκυμήλων καὶ σικύων, ἐξ ἰνὸς δὲ καὶ δέρματος
ὁ τῶν συκαμίνων καὶ τῆς poas. ἄλλοι δὲ κατ᾽
ἄλλον τρόπον μεμερισμένοι. πάντων δὲ ὡς
εἰπεῖν τὸ μὲν ἔξω φλοιὸς τὸ δ᾽ ἐντὸς σὰρξ τῶν δὲ
καὶ πυρήν. Ὶ
ΧΙ. “Eo yarov δ᾽ ἐν ἅπασι τὸ σπέρμα. τοῦτο
δὲ ἐ ἔχον ἐν ἑαυτῷ σύμφυτον ὑγρὸν καὶ θερμόν, ὧ ὧν
ἐκλιπόντων ἄγονα, καθάπερ τὰ ὠά. καὶ τῶν μὲν
εὐθὺ τὸ σπέρμα μετὰ τὸ περιέχον, οἷον φοίνικος
καρύου ἀμυγδάλης, πλείω δὲ τούτων τὰ ἐμπερι-
ἔχοντα, ὡς τὰ τοῦ φοίνικος. τῶν δὲ μεταξὺ σὰρξ
καὶ πυρήν, ὥσπερ ἐλάας καὶ κοκκυμηλέας καὶ
ἑτέρων. ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἐν λοβῷ, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν ὑμένι, τὰ
δ᾽ ἐν ἀγγείῳ, τὰ δὲ καὶ γυμνόσπερμα τελείως.
ἊΨ λοβῷ μὲν οὐ μόνον τὰ ἐπέτεια, καθάπερ τὰ
χεδροπὰ καὶ ἕτερα πλείω τῶν ἀγρίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ
τῶν δένδρων ἔνια, καθάπερ ἡ ἥ τε “κερωνία, ἦν τινες
καλοῦσι συκῆν Αἰγυπτίαν, καὶ ἡ κερκὶς καὶ ἡ
κολοιτία περὶ Λιπάραν' ἐν ὑμένι δ᾽ ἔνια τῶν
1 τὰ Ὁ ;Ψ τὸ Ald.
2 τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ σαρκὸς preserved only in mBas.; om. ΜΨΡ,
Sch. reads τὸ.
3 ἄρων conj. W.; αἰρῶν MSS. * τῆρ, find:
5 Plin. 18. 53. 8 οὐ conj. Sch.; οὖν Ald.H.
78
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. ro-x1. 2
Of flowers some! are composed of bark veins and
Hesh, some of flesh only,? as those in the middle of
cuckoo-pint.®
So too with fruits; some are made of flesh and
fibre, some of flesh alone, and some of skin#* also.
And moisture is necessarily found in these also.
The fruit of plums and cucumbers is made of flesh
and fibre, that of mulberries and pomegranates of
fibre and skin. The materials are differently distri-
buted in different fruits, but of nearly all the outside
is bark, the inside flesh, and this in some cases
includes a stone.)
Differences in seeds.
XI. Last in all plants comes the seed. This possesses
in itself natural moisture and warmth, and, if these
fail, the seeds are sterile, like eggs in the like case.
In some plants the seed comes immediately inside
the envelope, as in date filbert almond (however, as
in the case of the date, there may be more than one
covering). In some cases again there is flesh and a
stone between the envelope and the seed, as in olive
plum and other fruits. Some seeds again are enclosed
in a pod, some in a husk, some in a vessel, and some
are completely naked.
5 Enclosed in a pod are not® only the seeds Οἱ
annual plants, as leguminous plants, and of con-
siderable numbers of wild plants, but also those of
certain trees, as the carob-tree (which some?” call
the ‘Egyptian fig’), Judas-tree,® and the foloztia®
of the Liparae islands. In a husk are enclosed the
7 ἥν τινες conj. St. from G3; ἥντινα Ald. H.
8 Clearly not the κερκίς (aspen) described 3. 14. 2.
¥ κολοιτία MSS.; κολουτέα conj. St., cf. 3. 17. 2n.
79
THEOPHRASTUS
/ e e
ἐπετείων, ὥσπερ ὁ πυρὸς καὶ ὁ κέγχρος: ὡσαύτως
δὲ καὶ ἐναγγειοσπέρματα καὶ γυμνοσπέρματα.
ἐνωγγειοσπέρματα μὲν οἷον ἥ τε μήκων καὶ ὅσα
/
μηκωνικά:" TO γὰρ σήσαμον ἰδιωτέρως: γυμνο-
σπέρματα δὲ τῶν τε λαχάνων πολλά, καθάπερ
ἄνηθον κορίαννον ἄννησον κύμινον μάραθον καὶ
ἕτερα πλείω. τῶν δὲ δένδρων οὐδὲν γυμνόσπερμον
> TK \ / » A \ \
arr ἢ σαρξὶ περιεχόμενον ἢ κελύφεσιν, τὰ μὲν
δερματικοῖς, ὥσπερ ἡ βάλανος καὶ τὸ Εὐβοϊκόν,
\ \ ΄, Ψ ε ᾽ 7 \ \
τὰ δὲ ξυλώδεσιν, ὥσπερ ἡ ἀμυγδάλη Kal TO
κάρυον. οὐδὲν δὲ ἐναγγειόσπερμον, εἰ μή τις τὸν
“ -“ / al
κῶνον ἀγγεῖον θήσει διὰ TO χωρίζεσθαι τῶν
καρπῶν.
/ a
Αὐτὰ δὲ Ta σπέρματα τῶν μὲν εὐθὺ σαρκώδη,
/ Ὁ \ \ / n XN ἿἶΝ
καθάπερ ὅσα Kapunpa καὶ βαλανηρά: τῶν δὲ ἐν
πυρῆνι τὸ σαρκῶδες ἔχεται, καθάπερ ἐλάας καὶ
/ \ 7 lal) hee / / a
Sadvidos καὶ ἄλλων. τῶν δ᾽ ἐμπύρηνα μόνον ἢ
πυρηνώδη γε καὶ ὥσπερ ξηρά, καθάπερ τὰ
κνηκώδη καὶ κεγχραμιδώδη καὶ πολλὰ τῶν
lal \ \ a /
Aayavnpav. ἐμφανέστατα δὲ τὰ TOD φοίνικος"
2»O\ \ / 54 a > , > ’
οὐδὲ yap κοιλότητα ἔχει τοῦτο οὐδεμίαν ἀλλ
“ / > \ > ᾽ e ΄ / \
ὅλον ξηρόν: ov μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὑγρότης δή τις Kal
an /
θερμότης ὑπάρχει δῆλον ὅτι Kal τούτῳ, καθάπερ
εἴπομεν.
1 μηκωνικὰ . .. τὸ γὰρ conj. W. from G3; μήκωνι: κατὰ γὰρ
UMVAId.
2 κορίαννον ἄννησον conj. Sch.; κοριάννησον UMAId.; κο-
pavynoov V; cf. Plin. 19. 119.
3 ἢ κελύφεσιν conj. Sch., cf. CP. 4.1.23 4 δὲ κύμασιν U;
Plin. 15. 112, crusta teguntur glandes. 4 Pligg, 15. 1138.
80
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x1. 2-3
seeds of some annuals, as wheat and millet; and
in like manner some plants have their seeds in a
vessel, some have them naked. In a vessel are
those of the poppy and plants of the poppy kind ;!
(the case of sesame however is somewhat peculiar),
while many pot-herbs have their seeds naked, as
dill coriander? anise cummin fennel and many
others. No tree has naked seeds, but either they
are enclosed in flesh or in shells,? which are some-
times..of leathery nature, as the acorn and the sweet
chestnut, sometimes woody, as almond and _ nut.
Moreover no tree has its seeds in a vessel, unless one
reckons a cone asa vessel, because it can be separated
from the fruits.
The actual seeds are in some cases fleshy in them-
selves, as all those which resemble nuts or acorns ;
‘in some cases the fleshy part is contained in a stone,
as in olive bay and others. The seeds in some
plants again merely consist of a stone,® or at least
are of stone-like character, and are, as it were,® dry ;
for instance those of plants like safflower millet and
many pot-herbs. Most obviously of this character
are those of the date,’ for they contain no cavity,
but are throughout dry §;—not but what there must
be even in them some moisture and warmth, as we
have said.9
5. ἐμπύρηνα μόνον ἢ πυρηνώδη conj. Sch.; ἐν πυρῆνι μόνον ἢ
πυρηνώδει Ald. (P has πυρηνώδη).
5 7.e. no seed can really be without moisture ; cf. 1. 11. 1.
McfoG. Poole. 4.
8 ξηρὸν I conj.,as required by the next clause ; ἔξορθον PAld.;
ἔξορρον W. from Sch. conj. ‘The germ in the date-stone is so
small as to be undiscoverable, whence the stone seems to be
OO aoe throughout, with no cavity for the germ.
1:.10:9:
81
4
THEOPHRASTUS
\ A \
Διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τῷ τὰ μὲν ἀθρόα per
ἢ , 5 \ \ a \ =
ἀλλήλων εἶναι, τὰ δὲ διεστῶτα Kal στοιχηδον,
¢ an / a
ὥσπερ τὰ τῆς κολοκύντης καὶ σικύας Kal τῶν
a / an
δένδρων, ὡς Περσικῆς μηλέας. καὶ τῶν ἀθρόων
/ -
τὰ μὲν ἑνί τινι περιέχεσθαι, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς ῥόας
an / / rn
Kal τῆς ἀπίου Kal μηλέας καὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου Kal
a \ \ δ 9 7 \ s \
συκῆς" τὰ δὲ μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων μὲν εἶναι, μὴ περι-
’ / an
ἔχεσθαι δὲ ὑφ᾽ ἑνός, ὥσπερ τὰ σταχυηρὰ τῶν
/ 2 £ / \
ἐπετείων, εἰ μή TLS θείη τὸν στάχυν ὡς περιέχον"
e/ ’ ” \ ς , \ 5 \
οὕτω δ᾽ ἔσται καὶ ὁ βότρυς καὶ τᾶλλα τὰ
/ "ἢ ev \ / ᾽ > / \
Botpuwdn καὶ ὅσα δὴ φέρει δι’ εὐβοσίαν καὶ
\ >’ / \ ΄ ev
χώρας ἀρετὴν ἀθρόους τοὺς καρπούς, ὥσπερ ἐν
\ \ y \ /
Συρίᾳ φασὶ καὶ ἄλλοθι τὰς ἐλάας.
¢ a “ \
᾿Αλλὰ καὶ αὕτη δοκεῖ τις εἶναι διαφορὰ τὸ τὰ
\ , \ a /
μὲν ἀφ᾽ ἑνὸς μίσχου καὶ μιᾶς προσφύσεως
/ ’ / / a a
ἀθρόα γίνεσθαι, καθάπερ ἐπί τε τῶν βοτρυηρῶν
al N / a
Kal σταχυηρῶν εἴρηται μὴ περιεχόμενα κοινῷ
A \ \ /
τινι γίνεσθαι: τὰ δὲ μὴ γίνεσθαι. ἐπεὶ καθ᾽
¢ / lal -
ἕκαστόν γε λαμβάνοντι τῶν σπερμάτων ἢ τῶν
περιεχόντων ἰδίαν ἀρχὴν ἔχει τῆς “προσφύσεως,
οἷον ἥ τε ῥὰξ καὶ ἡ ῥόα καὶ πάλιν ὁ πυρὸς καὶ ”
κριθή. ἥκιστα δ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν τὰ τῶν μήλων Kal
lal id 4 / /
τὰ TOV ἀπίων, OTL συμψαύει TE καὶ περιείληπται
/ a
καθάπερ ὑμένι τινὶ δερματικῷ περὶ ὃν TO περι-
/ 5 ? ccd \ ee .«“ *O7
κάρπιον' ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ τούτων ἕκαστον ἰδίαν
\ \ / , od
ἀρχὴν ἔχει καὶ φύσιν: φανερώτατα δὲ TO
1 στοιχηδόν conj. W.; σχεδὸν Ald.
2 ἑνί τινι conj. Sch.; ἐν τινι Ald. δ᾽ of. Plin. 18..16;:
4 αὕτη conj. Sch.; αὐτὴ Ald. 5 τὸ conj. W.; τῷ Ald.
82
ENQUIRY INTOR BEANTS) 1 xt. 426
Further seeds differ in that in some cases they are
massed together, in others they are separated and
arranged in rows,! as those of the gourd and
bottle-gourd, and of some trees, such as the citron.
Again of those that are massed together some differ
in being contained in a single? case, as those of
pomegranate pear apple vine and fig; others in
being closely associated together, yet not contained
in a single case, as,among annuals, those which are
in an ear—unless one regards the ear as a case. In
that case the grape-cluster and other clustering fruits
will come under the description, as well as all those
plants which on account of good feeding or excellence
of soil bear their fruits massed together, as they
say the olive does in Syria and elsewhere.
But this* too seems to be a point of difference,
that® some grow massed together from a single
stalk and a single attachment, as has been said in
the case of plants with clusters or ears whose seeds
do not grow contained in one common case; while
others grow otherwise. For in these instances, if
one takes each seed or case separately, it has its own
special point of attachment, for instance each grape
or pomegranate,° or again each grain of wheat or
barley. This would seem to be least of all the case
with the seeds of apples and pears, since’ these
touch one another ® and are enclosed in a sort of
skin-like membrane, outside which is the fruit-case.®
However each of these too has its own peculiar
point of attachment and character; this is most
ὁ ἥτε... ῥόα. : text perhaps defective; ἥ τε pat βότρυα:
καὶ τῆς ῥόας ὁ mupny conj. Bod.
7 ὅτι conj. Sch.; ὅπι U; ὅποι PMAId.
Sef 8. Os 2. * γ: 9. pulp.
83
THEOPHRASTUS
i! n / « \
κεχωρισθαι Ta τῆς poas’ ὁ γὰρ πυρὴν ἑκαστῳ
lal al
προσπέφυκεν, οὐχ ὥσπερ τῶν συκῶν ἄδηλα διὰ
\ / \
τὴν ὑγρότητα. καὶ yap τούτῳ ἔχουσι διαφορὰν
, lal
καίπερ ἀμφότερα περιεχόμενα σαρκώδει τινὶ καὶ TO
rn / \ la) ” \ \ \
τοῦτο TEPLELANPOTL META τῶν ἄλλων" τὰ μὲν γὰρ
n \ “ a Ν
περὶ ἕκαστον ἔχει πυρῆνα τὸ σαρκῶδες τοῦτο τὸ
ς / “ , an
ὑγρόν, αἱ δὲ κεγχραμίδες ὥσπερ κοινόν TL πᾶσαι,
καθάπερ καὶ τὸ γίγαρτον καὶ ὅσα τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχει
“ b] x \ \ ΄ \ ΖΈΟΝ
τρόπον. ἀλλὰ τὰς μὲν τοιαύτας διαφορὰς τάχ
” / , ® o \ / \
av τις λάβοι πλείους" ὧν δεῖ TAS κυριωτάτας καὶ
μάλιστα τῆς φύσεως μὴ ἀγνοεῖν.
ΧΙΙ. Αἱ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς χυλοὺς καὶ τὰ σχήματα
\ \ [{ \ \ \ a ee
Kal Tas ὅλας μορφὰς σχεδὸν φανεραὶ πᾶσιν, ὥστε
a a / e a
μὴ δεῖσθαι λόγου: πλὴν τοσοῦτόν γ᾽ OTL σχῆμα
’
οὐδὲν περικάρπιον εὐθύγραμμον οὐδὲ γωνίας ἔχει.
lal lal /
TOV δὲ χυλῶν οἱ μέν εἰσιν οἰνώδεις, ὥσπερ ἀμ-
/ / Oa e ’ > , ee
πέλου συκαμίνου μύρτου" οἱ δ᾽ ἔλαώδεις, ὥσπερ
aT; , ΄ > an ΄ ,
ἐλάας δάφνης Kapvas ἀμυγδαλῆς πεύκης πίτυος
/ e \ , a ΄, ’ὔ
ἐλάτης" οἱ δὲ μελιτώδεις, οἷον σύκου φοίνικος
διοσ βαλάνου" οἱ δὲ δριμεῖς, οἷον ὀρυγάνου θύμβρᾳς
, ld e \ , Ὁ » /
καρδάμου νάπυος" οἱ δὲ πικροί, ὥσπερ ἀψινθίου
, n
κενταυρίου. διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ ταῖς evwdiats,
᾿ ’ / / ἊΨ ΝῊ. a A /
οἷον ἀννήσου κεδρίδος" ἐνίων δὲ ὑδαρεῖς av δόξαιεν,
a / \ a a
οἷον of τῶν κοκκυμηλέων" οἱ δὲ ὀξεῖς, ὥσπερ ῥοῶν
1 i.e. of the pulp. 2 τούτῳ conj. Sch.; τοῦτο Ald.
3 τὸν om. St.: 2.6. the seeds are arranged in compartments
of the pulp.
84
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x1. 6-x11, 1
obvious in the separation of the pomegranate seeds,
for the stone is attached to each, and the connexion
is not, as in figs, obscured by the moisture.! For
here? too there is a difference, although in both
cases the seeds are enclosed in a sort of fleshy
substance, as well as in the case which encloses this
and the other parts of the fruit. For in the pome-
granate the stones have this moist fleshy substance
enclosing each? separate stone; but in the case of
fig-seeds, as well as in that of grape-stones and other
plants which have the same arrangement, the same
pulp is common to all. However one might find
more such differences, and one should not ignore the
most important of them, namely those which specially
belong to the plant’s natural character.
Differences in taste.
XII. The differences in taste, shape, and form as
a whole are tolerably evident to all, so that they do
not need explanation; except that it should be
stated that® the case containing the fruit is never
right-lined in shape and never has angles. ὅ Of
tastes some are like wine, as those of vine mul-
berry and myrtle ; some are like olive-oil, as, besides
olive itself, bay hazel almond fir Aleppo pine silver-
fir; some like honey, as fig date chestnut; some are
pungent, as marjoram savory cress mustard; some
are bitter, as wormwood centaury. Some also are
remarkably fragrant, as anise and juniper’; of
some the smell would seem to be insipid,’ as in
plums; of others sharp, as in pomegranates and
42,6. the fruit is not divided into compartments.
5 πλὴν ἢ τοσοῦτον conj. W.; πλὴν τοσοῦτον ἢ UMAI.
S Phin 1186) so ΤΌ Wa Seopa. 14. 8 Lit. watery.
85
.
THEOPHRASTUS
At Oe / e ’, ‘ > , \ \
Kal ἐνίων μήλων. ἁπάντων δὲ οἰνώδεις καὶ TOUS
a / / f
ἐν τούτῳ τῷ γένει θετέον: ἄλλοι δὲ ἐν ἄλλοις
φ , “
εἴδεσιν: ὑπὲρ ὧν ἁπάντων ἀκριβέστερον ἐν τοῖς
Ἢ A ς , CU ey Vv. Sav
περὶ χυλῶν ῥητέον, αὐτάς TE τὰς ἰδέας διαριθμου-
/ e / \ \ ἣ >) / \
μένους ὁπόσαι Kal TAS πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαφορὰς
/ 7 \ 4
Kal τίς ἡ ἑκάστου φύσις καὶ δύναμις.
» δὲ \ ς an δέ ὃ a νς ς ,
Eyer δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν δενόρων αὐτῶν ὑγροτης,
. > / / " ¢: \ / >
ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, διάφορα εἴδη: ἡ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν
uA n na \ a -
ὀπώδης, ὥσπερ ἡ τῆς συκῆς καὶ τῆς μήκωνος" ἡ
/ “
δὲ πιττώδης, οἷον ἐλάτης πεύκης τῶν κωνοφύρων'
/ - /
ἄλλη δ᾽ ὑδαρής, οἷον ἀμπέλου ἀπίου μηλέας, καὶ
ol lal / ? / Vd
TOV λαχανωδῶν δέ, οἷον σικύου κολοκύντης θριδα-
/ e Ν ” τ / 4 y Y
κίνης" αἱ δὲ [ἤδη] δριμύτητά τινα ἔχουσι, καθάπερ
e a ΄ \ ΄, ε \ \ > ,
ἡ Tov Ovpov καὶ θύμβρας: αἱ δὲ καὶ εὐωδίαν,
¢ a , fal
ὥσπερ αἱ TOU σελίνου ἀνήθου μαράθου Kal τῶν
Zi ’ a > an \
τοιούτων. ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἅπασαι κατὰ τὴν
/ /
ἰδίαν φύσιν ἑκάστου δένδρου καὶ ws καθ᾽ ὅλου
a lal lal \ / “ /
εἰπεῖν φυτοῦ: πᾶν yap ἔχει Kpaciv τινα καὶ μίξιν
> / a « lal
ἰδίαν, ἥπερ οἰκεία δῆλον OTL τυγχάνει τοῖς ὑπο-
7 an e -» ,
κειμένοις καρποῖς" ὧν τοῖς πλείστοις συνεμφαίνε-
΄ e , ᾽ > \ by] \ ΄ " ᾽
ταί τις ὁμοιότης οὐκ ἀκριβὴς οὐδὲ σαφής: ἀλλ
a / “
ἐν τοῖς περικαρπίοις" διὸ μᾶλλον κατεργασίαν
/ A / \ x 2 ase a
λαμβάνει καὶ πέψιν καθαρὰν καὶ εἰλικρινῆ ἡ τοῦ
ΣΟ θα...
2. T. is said to have written a treatise περὶ χυμῶν.
5 ῥπώδης. omds is used specially of the juice of the fig
itself.
4 μήκωνος probably corrupt: it should be a tree.
86
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xu. 1-2
some kinds of apples. 1 But the smells even οἱ
those in this class must in all cases be called wine-
like, though they differ in different kinds, on which
matter we must speak more precisely, when we come
to speak of flavours,? reckoning up the different
kinds themselves, and stating what differences
there are between them, and what is the natural
character and property of each.
Now the sap of the trees themselves assumes
different kinds of tastes as was said; sometimes it
is milky,®? as that of the fig and poppy,’ some-
times like pitch, as in silver-fir fir and the conifers ;
sometimes it is insipid, as in vine pear and apple,
as well as such pot-herbs as cucumber gourd
lettuce ; while others® again have a certain pungency,
such as the juice of thyme and savory; others have
a fragrance, such as the juices of celery dill fennel
and the like. To speak generally, all saps corre-
spond to the special character of the several trees,
one might almost add, to that of each plant. For
every plant has a certain temperament and com-
position of its own, which® plainly belongs in a
special sense to the fruits of each. And in most of
these is seen a sort of correspondence with the
character of the plant as a whole, which is not
however exact nor obvious; it is chiefly 7 in the fruit-
cases® that it is seen, and that is why it is the
character of the flavour which becomes more com-
plete and matures into something separate and
5 [have bracketed ἤδη : ὃ a dittography of αἱ δὲ.
6 ἥπερ mBas.H ; εἴπερ MAId.
7 ἀλλ᾽ ἐν... μᾶλλον MSS. (ἢ) Ald.H ; yap for διὸ conj. W.,
omitting stop before it.
Pi 3-e-ubnel pulp! soit.) Chey he ΜἹ- Ὁ:
87
THEOPHRASTUS
a 3 “ Ν \ .“ ¢
χυλοῦ φύσις" δεῖ γὰρ ὥσπερ τὸ μὲν ὕλην ὑπο-
λαβεῖν τὸ δὲ εἶδος καὶ μορφήν.
Ἔχει δὲ αὐτὰ τὰ σπέρματα καὶ οἱ χιτῶνες οἱ
περὶ αὐτὰ διαφορὰν τῶν χυλῶν. ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς
εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα τὰ μόρια τῶν δένδρων καὶ φυτῶν,
οἷον ῥίξα καυλὸς ἀκρεμὼν φύλλον καρπός, ἔχει
τινὰ οἰκειότητα πρὸς τὴν ὅλην φύσιν, εἰ καὶ
παραλλάττει. κατά τε τᾶς ὀσμὰς καὶ τοὺς χυλούς,
ὡς τὰ μὲν εὔοσμα καὶ εὐώδη τὰ δ᾽ ἄοσμα καὶ
ἄχυλα παντελῶς εἶναι τῶν τοῦ αὐτοῦ μορίων.
᾿Ενίων γὰρ εὔοσμα τὰ ἄνθη μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ
φύλλα, τῶν δὲ ἀνάπαλιν τὰ φύλλα μᾶλλον καὶ
οἱ κλῶνες, ὥσπερ τῶν στεφανωματικῶν' τῶν δὲ οἱ
καρποί: τῶν δ᾽ οὐδέτερον' ἐνίων δ᾽ αἱ ῥίζαι: τῶν
δέ TL μέρος. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ κατὰ τοὺς χυλούς. τὰ
μὲν γὰρ βρωτὰ τὰ δ᾽ “ἄβρωτα τυγχάνει καὶ ἐν
φύλλοις καὶ περικαρπίοις. ἰδιώτατον δὲ τὸ ἐπὶ
τῆς φιλύρας' ταύτης γὰρ τὰ μὲν φύλλα γλυκέα
καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ζώων ἐσθίει, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς οὐδενὶ
βρωτός" ἐπεὶ τό γε ἀνάπαλιν οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν,
ὥστε τὰ μὲν φύλλα μὴ ἐσθίεσθαι τοὺς δὲ καρποὺς
οὐ μόνον ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἀχλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων
ζώων. ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
τῶν τοιούτων ὕστερον πειρατέον θεωρεῖν τὰς
αἰτίας.
XIII. Νῦν δὲ τοσοῦτον ἔστω δῆλον, ὅτε κατὰ
πάντα τὰ μέρη πλείους εἰσὶ διαφοραὶ πολλαχῶς:
1 ὦ, 6. the pulp. 2 «1.6 the flavour.
8 Sense: Every tree has a characteristic juice of its own,
which is however specially recognisable in its fruit ; in the
tree as a whole its character is not always apparent. Hence
the importance of the flavour (which is seen in the fruit-
pulp), since it is this which determines the specific character,
88
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xi. 2-xm1. 1
distinct; in fact we must consider the one! as
‘matter,’ the other? as ‘form’ or specific character.*
Again the seeds themselves and the coats con-
taining them have different flavours. And, to speak
generally, all parts of trees and plants, as root stem
branch leaf fruit, have a certain relationship to the
character of the whole, even if‘ there is variation in
scents and tastes, so that of the parts of the same
plant some are fragrant and sweet to the taste,
while others are entirely scentless and tasteless.
For in some plants the flowers are more fragrant
than the leaves, in others on the contrary it is
rather the leaves and twigs which are fragrant, as in
those used for garlands. In others again it is the
fruits; in others it is neither ὃ of these parts, but, in
some few cases, the root or some part of it. And
so too with the flavours. Some leaves and some
fruit-pulps are, and some are not good for food.
ὁ Most peculiar is the case of the lime: the leaves
of this are sweet, and many animals eat them, but
the fruit no creature eats, (for, as to the contrary
case, it would not be at all surprising that the leaves
should not be eaten, while the fruits were eaten not
only by us but by other animals). But concerning
this and other such matters we must endeavour to
consider the causes on some other occasion.
Differences in flowers.
XIII. For the present let so much be clear, that
in all the parts of plants there are numerous differ-
the pulp of fruit in general being, in Aristotelian language,
the ‘matter,’ while the flavour is ‘form.’ cf. C.P. 6. 6. 6.
* ef καὶ conj. Sch.; ἡ δὲ U; εἰ δὲ MVAId.
* οὐδέτερον seems inaccurately used, as four parts have been
mentioned. Sc a) 10. Ὁ. Phin 10: G5:
89
THEOPHRASTUS
ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ἀνθῶν τὰ μέν ἐστι χνοώδη, καθάπερ
τὸ τῆς ἀμπέλου και συκαμινου καὶ τοῦ κιττοῦ"
τὰ δὲ φυλλώδη, καθάπερ ᾿ἀμυγδαλῆς μηλέας
ἀπίου κοκκυμηλέας. καὶ τὰ μὲν μέγεθος ἔχει,
τὸ δὲ τῆς ἔλάας φυλλῶδες ὃ ὃν ἀμέγεθες. ὁμοίως
δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐπετείοις καὶ ποιώδεσι τὰ μὲν
φυλλώδη τὰ δὲ χνοώδη. πάντων δὲ τὰ μὲν δίχροα
τὰ δὲ μονόχροα. τὰ μὲν τῶν δένδρων τά Ye
πολλὰ μονόχροα Kal λευκανθῆ" μόνον yap ws
εἰπεῖν τὸ τῆς ῥόας φοινικοῦν καὶ ἀμυγδαλῶν
τινων ὑπέρυθρον’ ἄλλου δὲ οὐδενὸς τῶν ἡμέρων
οὔτε ἀνθῶδες οὔτε δίχρουν, ἀλλ᾽ εἴ τινος τῶν
ἀγρίων, οἷον τὸ τῆς ἐλάτης: κρόκινον γὰρ τὸ
ταύτης ἄνθος" καὶ ὅσα δή φασιν ἐν τῇ ἔξω θαλ-
ἄττῃ ῥόδων ἔ ἔχειν τὴν χρόαν.
Ἔν δὲ τοῖς ἐπετείοις σχεδὸν τά γε πλείω
τοιαῦτα καὶ δίχροα καὶ διανθῆ. λέγω δὲ διανθὲς
ὅτι ἕτερον ἄνθος ἐν τῷ ἄνθει ἔχει κατὰ μέσον,
ὥσπερ τὸ ῥόδον καὶ τὸ κρίνον καὶ τὸ ἴον τὸ μέλαν.
ἔνια δὲ καὶ povopudra φύεται διαγραφὴν ἐ ἔχοντα
μόνον τῶν πλειόνων, ὥσπ τερ τὸ τῆς ἰασιώνης" οὐ
γὰρ κεχώρισται ταύτης ἐν τῷ ἄνθει τὸ φύλλον
ἕκαστον" οὐδὲ δὴ τοῦ λειρίου τὸ κάτω μέρος, ἀλλὰ
ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων ἀποφύσεις γωνιώδεις. σχεδὸν δὲ
καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐλάας τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν.
Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἔκφυσιν καὶ θέσιν'
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει περὶ αὐτὸν τὸν καρπόν, οἷον ap-
1 7.e, petaloid.
2 ἀγρίων Ald.; αἰτίων U; ἀντιῶν MV; ποντίων conj. W.
5 ἡ, δ. corolla and stamens, etc.
4 7,6. are gamopetalous (or gamosepalous).
go
ENQUIRY “INTO PLANTS, 1. xi. 1-3
ences shewn in a variety of ways. Thus of flowers
some are downy, as that of the vine mulberry and
ivy, some are ‘leafy,'! as in almond apple pear
plum. Again some of these flowers are conspicuous,
while that of the olive, though it is ‘leafy,’ is incon-
spicuous. Again it is in annual and _ herbaceous
plants alike ΠΝ we find some leafy, some downy.
All plants again have flowers either of two colours or
of one; ἘΠΕ of the flowers of trees are of one colour
and white, that of the pomegranate being almost the
only one which is red, while that of some almonds is
reddish. The flower of no other cultivated trees is
gay nor of two colours, though it may be so with
some uncultivated? trees, as with the flower of silver-
fir, for its flower is of catinan colour; and so with
the flowers of those trees by the ocean which have,
they say, the colour of roses.
However, among annuals, most are of this charac-
ter—their flowers are two-coloured and twofold.? I
mean by ‘twofold’ that the plant has another
flower inside the flower, in the middle, as with rose
lily violet. Some flowers again consist of a single
‘leaf, 4 having merely an indication of more, as that
of bindweed.® For in the flower of this the separate
‘leaves’ are not distinct; nor is it so in the lower
part of the narcissus,° but there are angular projec-
tions? from the edges. And the flower of the olive
is nearly of the same character.
But there are also differences in the way of growth
and the position of the flower; some plants have it
CH BO OLS ey 15. 2500} seed Bo Or eal A 65:
8 χειρίου conj. Sch., 2.e. narcissus, cf. 6.6.95; χειρίου MSS.
7 3,6. something resembling separate ‘leaves’ (petals or
sepals).
gi
THEOPHRASTUS
πεέλος ἐλάα' ἧς καὶ ἀποπίπτοντα διατετρημενα
φαίνεται, καὶ τοῦτο σημεῖον λαμβάνουσιν εἰ
καλῶς ἀπήνθηκεν" ἐὰν γὰρ συγκαυθῇ ἢ ἢ βρεχθῇ.
συναποβάλλει τὸν καρπὸν καὶ οὐ τετρημένον
γίγνεται" σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν «ἀνθῶν"-
ἐν μέσῳ τὸ περικάρπιον ἔχει, τάχα δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾽
αὐτοῦ τοῦ περικαρπίου, καθώπερ poa μελέα ἄπιος
κοκκυμήλεα μύρρινος, καὶ τῶν γε φρυγανικῶν
podwvia Kal τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ᾿στεφανωτικῶν' κάτω
γὰρ ὑπὸ τὸ ἄνθος ἔχει τὰ σπέρματα" φανερώ-
τατον δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥόδου διὰ τὸν ὄγκον. ἔνια δὲ
καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν τῶν σπερμάτων, ὥσπερ ὁ ἄκανος
καὶ ὁ κνῆκος καὶ πάντα τὰ ἀκανώδη: καθ᾽ ἕκασ-
τον γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ἄνθος. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν
ποιωδῶν ἔνια, καθάπερ τὸ ἄνθεμον: ἐν δὲ τοῖς
λαχανηροῖς ὅ τε σίκυος καὶ ἡ κολοκύντη καὶ ἡ
/ / x Spe \ n
σικύα' πάντα yap ἐπὶ τῶν καρπῶν ἔχει. καὶ
προσαυξανομένων ἐπιμένει τὰ ἄνθη πολὺν χρόνον.
Ἄλλα δὲ ἰδιωτέρως, οἷον ὁ κιττὸς καὶ ἡ συκά-
μενος" ἐν αὐτοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἔχει τοῖς ὅλοις περι-
> \ 33 ΝῈ ἃ
καρπίοις, οὐ μὴν οὔτε ἐπ᾽ ἄκροις οὔτ᾽. ἐπὶ
περιειληφύσι καθ᾽ ἕκαστον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἀνὰ
μέσον' εἰ μὴ ἄρα οὐ σύνδηλα διὰ τὸ χνοῶδες.
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄγονα τῶν ἀνθῶν ἔνια, καθάπερ
ἐπὶ τῶν σικύων ἃ ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων φύεται τοῦ κλή-
A Of, 9: 10. 4. 2 Lacuna in text ; ἀνθῶν I conj.
3 τάχα Ald.; τινα W. after Sch. conj.
4 ἄἅπιος conj. Bod.; ἄγνος Ald. H.
> 2,6. composites.
6 σπερμάτων conj. Dalec. from G3 στομάτων Ald.
7 &kavos conj. W.; ἄκαρος UV.
8 ἀκανώδη con}. W.; ἀνθώδη Ald.H. cf. 1. 10. 6; 6. 4. 4.
92
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xi. 3-4
close above the fruit, as vine and olive; in the latter,
when the flowers drop off, they are seen to have a
hole through them,! and this men take for a sign
whether the tree has blossomed well; for if the
flower is burnt up or sodden, it sheds the fruit along
with itself, and so there is no hole through it. The
majority of flowers? have the fruit-case in the middle
of them, or, it may be,’ the flower is on the top of
the fruit-case, as in pomegranate apple pear* plum
and myrtle, and among under-shrubs, in the rose
and in many of the coronary plants. For these have
their seeds below, beneath the flower, and this is
most obvious in the rose because of the size of the
seed-vessel. In some cases® again the flower is on
top of the actual seeds,® as in pine-thistle’ safflower
and all thistle-like® plants; for these have a flower
attached to each seed. So too with some herba-
ceous plants, as anthemon, and among pot-herbs, with
cucumber ® gourd and bottle-gourd ; all these have
their flowers attached on top of the fruits,!° and the
Howers persist for a long time while the fruits are
deve’oping.
In some other plants the attachment is peculiar,
as in ivy and mulberry; in these the flower is closely
attached to the whole" fruit-case; it is not however
set above it, nor in a seed-vessel that envelops each!”
separately, but it occurs in the middle part of the
structure—except that in some cases it is not easily
recognised because it is downy.
13 Again some flowers are sterile, as in cucumbers
those which grow at the ends of the shoot, and that
9 8 τε σίκυος conj. W.; ὅπερ aixvos UM ; 6 περσίκυος Ald.
10 καρπῶν conj. Sch.; ἄκρων Ald. H.
11 4.e. compound, 12 οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ I conj. for οὐτὲ.
cy. Arist. Prov. 20: 3:
93
THEOPHRASTUS
x, A \ ᾽ fal ’ 7 , \ \
ματος, & ὃ καὶ ἀφαιροῦσιν αὐτά: κωλύει γὰρ THY
a / / \ \ \ lal /
τοῦ σικύου βλάστησιν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τῆς μηλέας
n -“ ΄ \ ” a “ ef
τῆς Μηδικῆς ὅσα μὲν ἔχει τῶν ἀνθῶν ὥσπερ
% “ , ad 2
ἠλακάτην τινὰ πεφυκυῖαν EK μέσου ταῦτ᾽ εἶναι
, “ \ \ On LE ESF. > \ \
γόνιμα, ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἔχει ταῦτ᾽ ἄγονα. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾽
» Ν lal ’ lal > /
ἄλλου τινὸς ταῦτα συμβαίνει τῶν ἀνθοφόρων
ti U , / » /
ὥστε ἄγονον ἄνθος φύειν εἴτε κεχωρισμένον εἴτε
/ / \ / lj \ » ,
μή, σκεπτέον. ἐπεὶ γένη γε ἔνια καὶ ἀμπέλου καὶ
- a lal ’ \ / ἴον
poas ἀδυνατεῖ τελεοκαρπεῖν, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τοῦ
/
ἄνθους ἡ γένεσις.
, \ \ , “ Car 7 \ \
(Γίνεται δὲ καὶ TO ye τῆς poas ἄνθος πολὺ Kal
\ ae ee ς > δὴ ‘a e a
πυκνὸν καὶ ὅλως ὁ ὄγκος πλατὺς ὥσπερ ὁ τῶν
« / ᾿] « a e \
ῥόδων: κάτωθεν δ᾽ ἑτεροῖος: οἷος δίωτος μικρὸς
¢ » ς / U \ /
ὥσπερ ἐκτετραμμένος ὁ KUTLVOS ἔχων τὰ χείλη
μυχώδη.)
Φ \ δέ Ν a e a \ \ > 6 a
aol δέ τινες Kal τῶν ὁμογενῶν τὰ μὲν ἀνθεῖν
Ν » a , \ aN »
τὰ δ᾽ οὔ, καθάπερ τῶν φοινίκων τὸν μὲν ἄρρενα
nr \ nan 9 ’ lal \
ἀνθεῖν τὸν δὲ θῆλυν οὐκ ἀνθεῖν ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺ Tpo-
/ Ν ,
φαίνειν τὸν καρπον.
rp \ \ > fal ’ tae ΄ \
Ta μὲν οὖν TO γένει ταὐτὰ τοιαύτην THY δια-
1 ὦ 6. the pistil.
2 2.6. as seen from above: καὶ ὅλων... ῥόδων describes the
corolla, κάτωθεν. . . μυχώδη the undeveloped ovary, including
the adherent calyx.
3 ῥόδων conj. Bod. ; ῥοῶν Ald.
4 κάτωθεν. . . μυχώδη I conj.; δ᾽ ἕτεροι δι᾽ ὧν ὡς μικρὸν
ὥσπερ ἐκτετραμμένος κότινος ἔχων τὰ χείλη μυχώδη UMVAId.
(except that Ald. has ἄνω for χείλη and ἐκτετραμμένον : so
also P, but ἐκτετραμμένος). The sentence explains incidentally
why the pomegranate flower was called κύτινος (cf. 2. 6. 12 ;
OP. 14.45.2799) 3325995 Mosely V1 3 Pin. 2a 110
94
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 1. xi. 4-5
is why men pluck them off, for they hinder the
growth of the cucumber. And they say that in the
citron those flowers which have a kind of distaff!
growing in the middle are fruitful, but those that
have it not are sterile. And we must consider
whether it occurs also in any other flowering plants
that they produce sterile flowers, whether apart
from the fertile flowers or not. For some kinds of
vine and pomegranate certainly are unable to mature
their fruit, and do not produce anything beyond the
flower.
(The flower of the pomegranate is produced abun-
dantly and is solid?: in general appearance it is a
substantial structure with a flat top, like the flower
of the rose?; but, as seen from below, the inferior
part of the flower is different-looking, being like a
little two-eared jar turned on one side and having
its rim indented.)
Some say that even of plants of the same kind °
some specimens flower while others do not; for
instance that the ‘male’ date-palm flowers but the
‘female’ does not, but exhibits its fruit without any
antecedent flower.
Such © is the difference which we find between
and 111), t.e. because it resembled αὶ κύτος (see LS. s.v.). Τ᾽,
chooses the particular form of jar called δίωτος, because the
indentations between the sepals suggest this: aha Ssins
called ἐκτετραμμένος, because the weight of the developing
fruit causes it to take up at one stage a horizontal position,
like a jar lying on its side; χείλη refers to the jar (for the
plural cf. the use of &ytuyes), μυχώδη to the indentations in
the calyx (a jar having ordinarily an unindented rim).
5 ὁμογενῶν conj. Sch.; ὁμοιογενῶν Ald.
6 ταὐτὰ τοιαύτην I conj. from G3 τοιαῦτα τὴν UM ;
τοιαύτην Ρ.
95
2
THEOPHRASTUS
j \ ” / Ὁ a \ ΄
φορὰν ἔχει, καθάπερ ὅλως ὅσα μὴ δύναται τελεο-
a ς \ a ΜΚ Α “ / »
καρπεῖν. ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἄνθους φύσις ὅτι πλείους ἔχει
\ \ a /
διαφορὰς φανερὸν ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων.
\ a ΄
XIV. Διαφέρει δὲ τὰ δένδρα καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις
, \ Ν “
κατὰ τὴν καρποτοκίαν' τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν νέων
a ’ “
βλαστῶν φέρει τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἔνων τὰ δ᾽ ἐξ ἀμφο-
τέρων. ἐκ μὲν τῶν νέων συκῆ ἄμπελος" ἐκ δὲ τῶν
»Μ 7 Εν / > n ” ͵
ἔνων ἐλάα poa μηλέα ἀμυγδαλῆ ἄπιος μύρρινος
\ \ a n
καὶ σχεδὸν τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα: ἐκ δὲ τῶν νέων
a a a /
ἐὰν ἄρα TL συμβῇ κυῆσαι καὶ ἀνθῆσαι (γίνεται
γὰρ καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐνίοις, ὥσπερ καὶ τῷ μυρρίνῳ καὶ
μάλισθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν περὶ τὰς βλαστήσεις τὰς μετ᾽
᾿Αρκτοῦρον) οὐ δύναται τελεοῦν ἀλλ᾽ ἡμιγενῆ
’ὔ, / \ a “
φθείρεται" ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων δὲ καὶ τῶν ἔνων καὶ τῶν
» Yi / a
νέων εἴ τινες ἄρα μηλέαι τῶν διφόρων ἢ εἴ τι
A / » \ ¢ ” > I \
ἄλλο κάρπιμον: ἔτι δὲ ὁ ὄλυνθος ἐκπέττων καὶ
a le n /
σῦκα φέρων ἐκ τῶν νέων.
2 / \ 6 ᾽ a / »
Ιδιωτάτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους ἔκφυσις,
“ nr > , λ
ὥσπερ τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ συκαμίνου: ταύτην γάρ
, fal / \
φασι φέρειν ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους" οἱ δὲ ταύτῃ TE καὶ
an , , δ
ἐκ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, ὥσπερ τὴν κερωνίαν: αὕτη γὰρ
Ae ΄ , \ > / a \
Kal ἐκ τούτων φέρει πλὴν OV πολύν' καλοῦσι δὲ
, > 7 *e \ “ A > / /
κερωνίαν ap ἧς Ta σῦκα τὰ Αἰγύπτια καλούμενα.
12.2.6. that, like the ‘female’ date-palm, they have no
flower.
2 τοιαῦτα πάντα' ἐκ δὲ τῶν νέων ἐὰν ἄρα τι conj. W. ; τοιαῦτα"
πάντα γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἔνων' ἐὰν δὲ ἄρα τι MSS.
pf) ae Ὁ Ἃ,
4 διφόρων conj. Sch. from G ; διαφόρων UAId.
96
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xu. 5-x1v. 2
plants of the same kind; and the like may be said!
in general of those which cannot mature their fruit.
And it is plain from what has been said that flowers
shew many differences of character.
Differences in fruits.
XIV. Again as to the production of fruit trees
differ in the following respects. Some bear on their
new shoots, some on last year’s wood, some on both.
Fig and vine bear on their new shoots; on last year’s
wood olive pomegranate apple almond pear myrtle
and almost all such trees. And, if any of these does?
happen to conceive and to produce flowers on its new
shoots, (for this does occur in some cases, as with
myrtle, and especially, one may say, in the growth
which is made after the rising of Arcturus)* it can
not bring them to perfection, but they perish half-
formed. Some apples again of the twice-bearing ‘
kinds and certain other fruit-trees bear both on last
year’s wood and on the new shoots; and so does the
olynthos,° which ripens its fruit as well as bearing figs
on the new shoots.
Most peculiar is the growth of fruit direct from
the stem, as in the sycamore; for this, they say,
bears fruit on the stem. Others say that it bears
both in this way and © also on the branches, like the
carob; for the latter bears on the branches too,
though not abundantly: (the name carob is given to
the tree which produces what are called ‘ Egyptian
δ ὄλυνθος is not elsewhere used for a kind of fig: ἔτι δὲ
συκῆ τοὺς ὀλύνθους ἐκπέττουσα Kal σῦκα φέρουσα conj. Sch.
somewhat drastically.
ὁ ταύτῃ τε καὶ ἐκ conj. W.; ταύτης μὲν ἐκ UMVAId. cf.
4, 2. 4.
97
THEOPHRASTUS
ἔστι δὲ Kal τὰ μὲν ἀκρόκαρπα τῶν δένδρων Kat
ὅλως τῶν φυτῶν τὰ δὲ πλαγιόκαρπα τὰ δ᾽ ἀμφο-
τερως. πλείω δ᾽ ἀκρόκαρπα τῶν ἄλλων ἢ τῶν
δένδρων, οἷον τῶν τε σιτηρῶν τὰ σταχυώδη καὶ
τῶν θαμνωδῶν ἐρείκη καὶ σπειραία καὶ ἄγνος καὶ
ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα καὶ τῶν λαχανωδῶν τὰ κεφαλόρριζα.
ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων δὲ καὶ τῶν δένδρων ἔνια καὶ τῶν
λαχανωδῶν, οἷον βλίτον ἀδράφαξυς ῥάφανος"
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐλάα ποιεῖ πως τοῦτο, καί φασιν ὅταν
ἄκρον ἐνέγκῃ σημεῖον εὐφορίας εἶναι. ἀκρό-
καρπος δέ πως καὶ ὁ φοῖνιξ' πλὴν τοῦτό γε καὶ
ἀκρόφυλλον καὶ ἀκρόβλαστον' ὅλως γὰρ ἐν τῷ
ἄνω πᾶν τὸ ζωτικόν. τὰς μὲν οὖν κατὰ «τὰ;»
μέρη διαφορὰς πειρατέον ἐκ τούτων θεωρεῖν.
Αἱ δὲ τοιαῦται τῆς ὅλης οὐσίας φαίνονται" δῆλον
ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἥμερα τὰ δ᾽ ἄγρια" καὶ τὰ μὲν κάρπιμα
τὰ δ᾽ ἄκαρπα' καὶ ἀείφυλλα καὶ φυλλοβολα,
καθάπερ ἐλέχθη, τὰ δ᾽ ὅλως ἄφυλλα: καὶ τὰ μὲν
ἀνθητικὰ τὰ δ᾽ avav0y καὶ πρωϊβλαστῆ δὲ καὶ
πρωΐκαρπα τὰ δὲ ὀψιβλαστῆ καὶ ὀψίκαρπα'
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὅσα παραπλήσια τούτοις. και
πως τάγε τοιαῦτα ἐν τοῖς μέρεσιν ἢ οὐκ ἄνευ τῶν
μερῶν ἐστιν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνη ἰδιωτάτη καὶ τροπόν τινα
μεγίστη διάστασις, ἥπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων, ὅτι τὰ
μὲν ἔνυδρα τὰ δὲ χερσαῖα: καὶ γὰρ τῶν φυτῶν
. Pin? 162 ΤΣ
2 τοῦτο conj. Sch.; τούτου UAId. ; τοῦτον Μ.
+ τὰ 5800: ἣν; ΟΝ. 1 1.0 1:
98
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xiv. 2-3
figs’). 1 Again some trees, and some plants in general,
produce fruit at the top, others at the sides, others in
both ways. But bearing fruit at the top is less
common in trees than in other plants, as among
grains in those which have an ear, among shrubby
plants in heath privet chaste tree and certain others,
and among pot-herbs in those with ἃ bulbous
root. Among plants which bear both on the top
and at the sides are certain trees and certain pot-
herbs, as blite orach cabbage. I say trees, since
the olive does this too in a way, and they say that,
when it bears at the top, it is a sign of fruitfulness.
The date-palm too bears at the top, in a sense, but
this 2 tree also has its leaves and shoots at the top;
indeed it is in the top that its whole activity is
seen. Thus we must endeavour to study in the
light of the instances mentioned the differences seen
in the ® various parts of the plant.
General differences (affecting the whole plant).
But there appear to be the following differences
which affect the plant’s whole being: some are culti-
vated, some wild; some fruitful, some barren ; some
evergreen, some deciduous, as was said, while some
again have no leaves at all ; some are flowering plants,
some flowerless; some are early,some late in producing
their shoots and fruits; and there are other differences
similar to these. Now it may be said that* such
differences are seen in the parts, or at least that
particular parts are concerned in them. But the
special, and in a way the most important distinction
is one which may be seen in animals too, namely,
that some are of the water, some of the land. For
4 καί πως τά γε τοιαῦτα Conj. Sch. ; καὶ wav τά γε ταῦτα U ;
καὶ τά γε τοιαῦτα Ald,
99
THEOPHRASTUS
y a / a ’ , ΄ \
ἔστι TL τοιοῦτον γένος ὃ οὐ δύναται φύεσθαι <p>
> e lal \ \ / / > Ὡ \ > \
ἐν ὑγρῷ" τὰ δὲ φύεται μέν, οὐχ ὅμοια δὲ ἀλλὰ
χείρω. πάντων δὲ τῶν δένδρων ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν
\ “ La) "» / , ae
Kal τῶν φυτῶν εἴδη πλείω τυγχάνει καθ᾽ ἕκαστον
/ \ \ > / > ¢ a) > a) er.
4 γένος" σχεδὸν yap οὐδέν ἐστιν ἁπλοῦν" ἀλλ᾽ ὅσα
μὲν ἥμερα καὶ ἄγρια λέγεται ταύτην ἐμφανε-
, “-
στάτην καὶ μεγίστην ἔχει διαφοράν, οἷον συκῆ
ἐρινεός, ἐλάα κότινος, ἄπιος ἀχράς" ὅσα δ᾽ ἐν
ἑκατέρῳ τούτων τοῖς καρποῖς τε καὶ φύλλοις καὶ
lal BA “ \ ἴω tf , x
ταῖς ἄλλαις μορφαῖς τε καὶ τοῖς μορίοις. ἀλλὰ
τῶν μὲν ἀγριων ἀνώνυμα τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ ἔμπειροι
ὀλίγοι: τῶν δὲ ἡμέρων καὶ ὠνομασμένα τὰ πλείω
Ve y / / ? ἦ᾿ ΕῚ ,
καὶ ἡ αἴσθησις κοινοτέρα: λέγω δ᾽ οἷον ἀμπέλου
συκῆς poas μηλέας ἀπίου δάφνης μυρρίνης τῶν
ἄλλων: ἡ γὰρ χρῆσις οὖσα κοινὴ συνθεωρεῖν
a) \
ποιεῖ τὰς διαφοράς.
᾽ oat 4
56 Ἴδιον δὲ καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ἑκατέρων' τὰ μὲν yap
” A SF \ an / Ἃ , xX /
ἄγρια TO ἄρρενι καὶ τῷ θήλει ἢ μόνοις ἢ μάλιστα
a \ Nae / 207 * \
διαιροῦσι, τὰ δὲ ἥμερα πλείοσιν ἰδέαις. ἔστι δὲ
a \ en a Ν a \ ”
τῶν μὲν ῥᾷον λαβεῖν καὶ διαριθμῆσαι τὰ εἴδη,
τῶν δὲ χαλεπώτερον διὰ τὴν πολυχοΐαν.
᾿Αλλὰ δὴ τὰς μὲν τῶν μορίων διαφορὰς καὶ τῶν
ἄλλων οὐσιῶν ἐκ τούτων πειρατέον θεωρεῖν. περὶ
“ / fa) a
δὲ τῶν γενέσεων μετὰ ταῦτα λεκτέον: τοῦτο γὰρ
ὥσπερ ἐφεξῆς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐστίν.
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xiv. 3-5
of plants too there is a class which cannot grow
except! in moisture, while others will indeed grow
on dry land, but they lose their character and are
inferior. Again of all trees, one might almost say,
and of all plants there are several forms to each kind ;
for hardly any kind contains but a single form. But
the plants which are called respectively cultivated
and wild shew this difference in the clearest and
most emphatic way, for instance the cultivated and
wild forms of fig olive and pear. In each of these
pairs there are differences in fruit and leaves, and in
their forms and parts generally. But most of the
wild kinds have no names and few know about them,
while most of the cultivated kinds have received
names? and they are more commonly observed; |
mean such plants as vine fig pomegranate apple pear
bay myrtle and so forth ; for, as many people make
use of them, they are led also to study the differences.
But there is this peculiarity as to the two classes
respectively ; in the wild kinds men find only or
chiefly the distinction of ‘male’ and ‘female,’ while
in the cultivated sorts they recognise a number of
distinguishing features. In the former case it is
easy to mark and count up the different forms, in the
latter it is harder because the points of difference are
numerous.
However we have said enough for study of the
differences between parts and between general
characters. We must now speak of the methods of
growth, for this subject comes naturally after what
has been said.
1 μὴ add. W.
2 ὠνουασμένα τὰ πλείω Conj. Sch.; ὠνομασμένων πλείω Ald.
IOI
a or Anon ho oa γὴν eee
pap νὰ ἢ ὌΝΟΝ λα
εν Wha bibl
Hoty Hight | af |
; aioe
᾿ ἜΝ,
sb! peers τανε γᾷ add Seite ρα Waid
Tae aie a renin (Qi ng. ue
iin lahat
eee ene, ἫΝ Te ad ἜΝ
νὰ ὯΝ δὴν ψν na ἢ
pnd ta waa bik Rik ματα τσ
UT ΟΠ ]Πὴ Aeon
ΜΗ. πο, ων whe ᾿ Ps) als | Ai) ὯΝ Gi εἶδον ee
ἡ ἢ δ ΠΣ phat ‘ete vistas oud te. dibvdy af WP)
ΕΗ να ΠΣ Νὰ hela ΝΗ
a tH ἰπρκον aunty as shit: δὴ ioe |
ach ab Keeney, Men anette Men) 9s TETRA Mie cil
plutei alle Oak εὐ δ nie νη ALN te EGE “iat
ΩΝ wets ahd Ἧ an ey) he CT AVE Ae ene,
ny) Mr Mui Νὰ eee a4 lly eel): cpl show ont
ΩΝ ΔΕ Dalle ae Ty ANON A Bees
en allan ἴω; maroon wip geval abate | Plaine ἐδ ae
en reir, μα μὰ ἣν Ἡ ΑΝ τ ee
7 0} ae Topeags a Ue a
hi ὙΠ ist i este Αἰ ὦ grit ὅδ ee 4) ΤΠ
ΑΝ bee: hid ΡΣ Ra δἰ 7
Welt At an νύν haba? Sagal Bl cant ράσο
Raat) rai nt EE: ΡΣ ᾿ danger:
eh Pe ΠΝ ΑΝ ὩΣ
ἡ» ἦν! aed te evaie ROOD ἌΠ τὰ on
” ΠῚ ae mite op
κ- ann - a
fA wie) pa gbaci δὰ + AOR) προ Aree ὧν aie
at
; ᾿ ; "δ"
Ἰ γ᾿ Π ; Ἱ
γε ἽΝ Wi ᾿ Sy Ν᾿
᾿ Ι 4 7 ray if
᾿ Ἵ ᾿ ᾿ ᾿
| " ᾿ a i
BOOK II
B
I. Αἱ γενέσεις τῶν δένδρων καὶ ὅλως τῶν
a 3 ’ 3 \ >
φυτῶν ἢ αὐτόμαται ἢ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἢ ἀπὸ
c/s nx > \ / vA » Ν > / Δ
ῥίζης ἢ ἀπὸ παρασπάδος ἢ ἀπὸ ἀκρεμόνος ἢ
> Ν \ XK >’ 5 > an na 7 ᾿- / xX
ἀπὸ κλωνὸς ἢ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ στελέχους εἰσίν, ἢ
ἔτι τοῦ ξύλου κατακοπέντος εἰς μικρά" καὶ γὰρ
¢ , Mh \ /
οὕτως ἔνια φύεται. τούτων δὲ ἡ μὲν αὐτόματος
, af \ » \ / Acer
πρώτη τις, αἱ δὲ ἀπὸ σπέρματος καὶ ῥίζης φυσι-
/ 7 ec \ / ‘
κώταται δόξαιεν av: ὥσπερ γὰρ αὐτόμαται καὶ
᾽ , > A \ A > , ε , e ay
αὐταί: δι’ ὃ Kal τοῖς ἀγρίοις ὑπάρχουσιν" αἱ δὲ
” / x \ /
ἄλλαι τέχνης ἢ δὴ προαιρέσεως.
“ \ / / lal Ι
Απαντα δὲ βλαστάνει κατά τινα τῶν τρόπων
΄ \ \
τούτων, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ κατὰ πλείους: ἐλάα μὲν
\ ΄ ΄ὔ \ ak Ὁ a , ᾽
γὰρ πάντως φύεται πλὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ κλωνός" οὐ
γὰρ δύναται καταπηγνυμένη, καθάπερ ἡ συκῆ
a / \ td τ “ CP 2 / ,
τῆς κράδης καὶ ἡ poa τῆς ῥάβδου. καίτοι φασί
/ \ / ’
γέ τινες ἤδη καὶ χάρακος παγείσης καὶ πρὸς τὸν
κιττὸν συμβιῶσαι καὶ γενέσθαι δένδρον: ἀλλὰ
΄ , \ A ΄ \ \ \ =
σπάνιόν τι τὸ τοιοῦτον: θάτερα δὲ τὰ πολλὰ τῆς
7, an \ \ \ ” ’
φύσεως. συκῆ δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους τρόπους
1 ἔνια φύεται conj. Sch.; ἀναφύεται Ald.
104
BOOK II
Or PROPAGATION, ESPECIALLY OF TREES:
Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. Instances of
degeneration from seed.
I. Tue ways in which trees and plants in general
originate are these :—spontaneous growth, growth
from seed, from a root, from a piece torn off, from a
branch or twig, from the trunk itself; or again from
small pieces into which the wood is cut up (for some
trees can be produced! even in this manner). Of
these methods spontaneous growth comes first, one
may say, but growth from seed or root would seem
most natural; indeed these methods too may be
called spontaneous; wherefore they are found even
in wild kinds, while the remaining methods depend
on human skill or at least on human choice.
However all plants start in one or other of these
ways, and most of themin more thanone. Thus the
olive is grown in all the ways mentioned, except
from a twig; for an olive-twig will not grow if it is
set in the ground, as a fig or pomegranate will grow
from their young shoots. Not but what some say
that cases have been known in which, when a stake
of olive-wood was planted to support ivy, it actually
lived along with it and became a tree; but such
an instance is a rare exception, while the other
methods of growth are in most cases the natural
ones. The fig grows in all the ways mentioned,
105
THEOPHRASTUS
φύεται πάντας, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν πρέμνων Kal τῶν
ξύλων οὐ φύεται: μηλέα δὲ καὶ ἄπιος καὶ ἀπὸ
τῶν ἀκρεμόνων σπανίως. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τά γε
πολλὰ ἢ πάνθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἐνδέχεσθαι δοκεῖ καὶ
ἀπὸ τούτων, ἐὰν λεῖοι καὶ νέοι καὶ εὐαυξεῖς Mow.
ἀλλὰ φυσικώτεραί πως ἐκεῖναι" τὸ δὲ ἐνδεχόμενον
ὡς δυνατὸν ληπτέον.
Ὅλως γὰρ ὀλίγα τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄνω μᾶλλον
βλαστάνοντα καὶ γεννώμενα, καθάπερ ἄμπελος
ἀπὸ τῶν κλημάτων" αὕτη γὰρ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς
πρώρας ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ κλήματος φύεται, καὶ εἰ δή
TL τοιοῦτον ἕτερον ἢ δένδρον ἢ ἢ φρυγανῶδες, ὥ ὥσπερ
δοκεῖ TO τε πήγανον καὶ ἡ ἐωνία καὶ τὸ σισύμ-
βριον καὶ ὁ ἕρπυλλος καὶ τὸ ἑλένιον. κοινοτάτη
μὲν οὖν ἐστὶ πᾶσιν ἥ τε ἀπὸ τῆς παρασπάδος καὶ
ἀπὸ σπέρματος. ἅπαντα γὰρ ὅσα ἔχει σπέρματα
καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρματος γίνεται: ἀπὸ δὲ παρασπάδος
καὶ τὴν δάφνην φασίν, ἐάν τις τὰ ἔρνη παρελὼν
φυτεύσῃ. δεῖ δὲ ὑπόρριξον εἶναι μάλιστά γε τὸ
παρασπώμενον ἢ ὑπόπρεμνον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ
ἄνευ τούτου θέλει βλαστάνειν καὶ ῥόα καὶ μηλέα
ἐαρινή: βλαστάνει δὲ καὶ ἀμυγδαλῆ φυτευομένη.
κατὰ πλείστους δὲ τρόπους ὡς εἰπεῖν ἡ ἐλάα
βλαστάνει' καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ στελέχους καὶ ἀπὸ
τοῦ πρέμνου κατακοπτομένου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς pitns
[καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου] καὶ ἀπὸ ῥάβδου καὶ χάρακος
ὥσπερ, εἴρηται. τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων ὁ μύρρινος: καὶ
γὰρ οὗτος ἀπὸ τῶν ξύλων καὶ τῶν πρέμνων
1 χά γε πολλὰ πάνθ᾽ conj. Sch.; ἢ before πάνθ᾽ ins. St.; τά
τε πολλὰ πάνθ᾽ Ald.
2 εὐαυξεῖς conj. H; αὐξεῖς UMVAId.
3. οὐκ I conj.; οὐδ᾽ MSS.
106
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. 1. 2-4
except from root-stock and cleft wood; apple and
pear grow also from branches, but rarely. However
it appears that most, if not practically all,! trees may
grow from branches, if these are smooth young and
vigorous.2, But the other methods, one may say, are
more natural, and we must reckon what may
occasionally occur as a mere possibility.
In fact there are quite few plants which grow and
are brought into being more easily from the upper
parts, as the vine is grown from branches ; for this,
though it cannot? be grown from the ‘head,’ * yet
can be grown from the branch, as can all similar
trees and under-shrubs, for instance, as it appears,
rue gilliflower bergamot-mint tufted thyme cala-
mint. So the commonest ways of growth with all
plants are from a piece torn off or from seed ; for all
plants that have seeds grow also from seed. And
they say that the bay too grows® from a piece
torn off, if one takes off the young shoots and plants
them; but it is necessary that the piece torn off
should have part of the root or stock ® attached to it.
However the pomegranate and ‘ spring apple’? will
grow even without this, and a slip of almond ὃ grows
if it is planted. The olive grows, one may say, in
more ways than any other plant; it grows from a
piece of the trunk or of the stock,? from the root,
from a twig, and from a stake, as has been said.!° Of
other plants the myrtle also can be propagated in
several ways; for this too grows from pieces of wood
4 πρώρας, cf. Col. 3.10. 1, caput vitis vocat πρώραν. Sch.
restores the word, C.P. 3. 14. 7.
ao) ΟΞ 5.0. 6 2,6. a ‘heel’ (Lat. ρεγπα).
7 of. CP. 2.11. 6; Athen. 3. 23. 5 cf. Geop. 10. 3. 9.
9 καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου Om. Julius Pontedeva on Varro 1. 39. 3:
a gloss on ἀπὸ τοῦ πρέμνου κατακ. fou 10 0.
107
THEOPHRASTUS
φύεται. δεῖ δὲ καὶ τούτου καὶ τῆς ἐλάας τὰ ξύλα
διαιρεῖν μὴ ἐλάττω σπιθαμιαίων καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν
μὴ περιαιρεῖν.
ὰ μὲν οὖν δένδρα βλαστάνει καὶ γίνεται κατὰ
τοὺς εἰρημένους τρόπους" αἱ γὰρ ἐμφυτεῖαι καὶ
οἱ ἐνοφθαλμισμοὶ καθάπερ μίξεις τινές εἰσιν
ἢ κατ᾽ ἄλλον τρόπον γενέσεις, περὶ ὧν ὕστερον
λεκτέον.
I. Τῶν δὲ φρυγανωδῶν και ποιωδῶν τὰ μὲν
πλεῖστα ἀπὸ σπέρματος. ἢ pitns τὰ δὲ και
ἀμφοτέρως" ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν βλαστῶν, ὥ ὥσπερ
εἴρηται. ῥοδωνία δὲ καὶ κρινωνία κατακοπέντων
τῶν καυλῶν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἄγρωστις. φύεται δὲ
ἡ κρινωνία καὶ ἡ ῥοδωνία καὶ ὅλου τοῦ καυλοῦ
τεθέντος. ἰδιωτάτη δὲ ἡ ἀπὸ δακρύου' καὶ γὰρ
οὕτω δοκεῖ τὸ κρίνον φύεσθαι, ὅταν ξηρανθῇ τὸ
ἀπορρυέν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱπποσελίνου"
καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο ἀφίησι δάκρυον. φύεται δέ τις
καὶ κάλαμος, ἐάν τις διατέμνων τὰς ἠλακάτας
πλαγίας τιθῇ καὶ κατακρύψῃ κόπρῳ καὶ γῇ.
ἰδίως δὲ ἀπὸ ῥίζης [τῷ] φύεσθαι καὶ τὰ κεφα-
λόρριζα.
Τοσαυταχῶς δὲ οὔσης τῆς δυνάμεως τὰ μὲν
πολλὰ τῶν δένδρων, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη πρότερον, ἐν
πλείοσι τρόποις φύεται" ἔνια δὲ ἀπὸ σπέρματος
1 ἐμφυτεῖαι conj. R. Const.; ἐμφυλέαι (with erasures) U;
ἐμφυλείαι V; ἐμφυλεῖαι Ald.
22.1. θοῦ CaP. lia and δ.
34.6. bulbile ¢f.:6.'6. 8 3 9094 ΣΟ. 154.16 ;{Plinj 21; 24.
4 ἐπὶ conj. W.; ἀπὸ P,Ald.
5 δέ τις καὶ Ald,; τις om. W. after Sch,
108
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. 1. 4-1. 2
and also from pieces of the stock. It is necessary
however with this, as with the olive, to cut up the
wood into pieces not less than a span long and not to
strip off the bark.
Trees then grow and come into being in the above-
mentioned ways; for as to methods of grafting! and
inoculation, these are, as it were, combinations of
different kinds of trees; or at all events these are
methods of growth of a quite different class and
must be treated of at a later stage.
II. Of under-shrubs and herbaceous plants the
greater part grow from seed or a root, and some in
both ways; some of them also grow from cuttings,
as has been said,? while roses and lilies grow from
pieces of the stems, as also does dog’s-tooth grass.
Lilies and roses also grow when the whole stem is
set. Most peculiar is the method of growth from an
exudation?; for it appears that the lily grows in
this way too, when the exudation that has been
produced has dried up. They say the same οἵ
alexanders, for this too produces an _ exudation.
There is a certain ὃ reed also which grows if one cuts
it in lengths from joint to joint and sets them ὅ
sideways, burying it in dung and soil. Again they
say that plants which have a bulbous root are
peculiar in their way of growing’ from the root.
The capacity for growth being shewn in so many
ways, most trees, as was said before,’ originate in
several ways; but some come? only from seed, as silver-
6 cof. 1. 4.4; Plin. 17. 145; Col. 4. 32. 2; 7:69 conj. Sch.;
ἢ Ald.; 3 θῇ.
1,6. by offset bulbs. Text probably defective; cf. C.P.
[et cera hs oe aro 1 Tt
9 φύεται I conj.; φησὶν ἐστιν or φασίν ἐστιν MSS.; ὡς φασίν
ἐστιν Ald.; παραγίνεται conj. W.
109
THEOPHRASTUS
φύεται μονον, οἷον ἐλάτη πεύκη πίτυς ὅλως πᾶν
τὸ κωνοφόρον" ἔτι δὲ καὶ φοῖνιξ, πλὴν εἰ ἄρα ἐν
Βαβυλῶνι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥάβδων [ὥς] φασί τινες
μολεύειν. κυπάριττος δὲ παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις
ἀπὸ σπέρματος, ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στελέ-
χους, οἷον ἐπὶ τῆς ὀρείας ἐν Tappa παρὰ τούτοις
γάρ ἐστιν ἡ κουριξομένη κυπάριττος" αὕτη δὲ ἀ ἀπὸ
τῆς τομῆς βλαστάνει πάντα τρόπον πεμνομένη
καὶ ἀπὸ γῆς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ μέσου καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνω-
τέρω: βλαστάνει δὲ ἐνιαχοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν
σπανίως δέ.
Περὶ δὲ δρυὸς ἀμφισβητοῦσιν' οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ
σπέρματός φασι μόνον, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ ῥίξης
γλίσχρως" οἱ δὲ καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ στελέχους
κοπέντος. ἀπὸ παρασπάδος δὲ καὶ ῥίζης οὐδὲν
φύεται τῶν μὴ παραβλαστανόντων.
“Απάντων δὲ ὅσων πλείους αἱ γενέσεις, ἡ ἀπο
παρασπάδος καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον. ἡ ἀπὸ παραφυάδος
ταχίστη καὶ εὐαυξής, ἐὰν ἀπὸ ῥίξης ἡ ἡ παραφυὰς
ἧς, καὶ, τὰ μὲν οὕτως ἢ ὅλως ἀπὸ φυτευτηρίων
πεφυτευμένα πάντα δοκεῖ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐξομοιοῦν.
ὅσα δ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ τῶν δυναμενων καὶ οὕτως
βλαστάνειν, ἅπανθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν χείρω, τὰ δὲ καὶ
ὅλως ἐξίσταται τοῦ γένους, οἷον ἄμπελος μηλέα
συκῆ ῥοιὰ ἄπιος" ἔκ τε γὰρ τῆς κεγχραμίδος οὐδὲν
γίνεται γένος ὅλως ἥμερον, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐρινεὸς ἢ
ἀγρία συκῆ, διαφέρουσα πολλάκις καὶ τῇ χροίᾳ'
καὶ γὰρ ἐκ μελαίνης λευκὴ καὶ ἐκ λευκῆς μέλαινα
1 μολεύειν conj. Sch.; μωλύειν MSS.; μοσχεύειν conj. R.
Const. (cf. C.P. 1.2 1). But cf. Hesych. 8.v. μολεύειν.
ΞΡ π: 10. 141. 8 ἐπὶ conj. W.; τὸ UMVAId.
Ilo
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. τι. 2-4
fir fir Aleppo pine, and in general all those that bear
cones: also the date-palm, except that in Babylon it
may be that, as some say, they take cuttings! from
it. The cypress in most regions grows from seed,
but in Crete? from the trunk also, for instance in?
the hill country about Tarra; for there grows the
cypress which they clip, and when cut it shoots in
every possible way, from the part which has been cut,
from the ground, from the middle, and from the
upper parts; and occasionally, but rarely, it shoots
from the roots also.
About the oak accounts differ; some say it only
grows from seed, some from the root also, but not
vigorously, others again that it grows from the trunk
itself, when this is cut. But no tree grows from a
piece torn off or from a root except those which
make side-growths.
However in all the trees which have several
methods of originating the quickest method and that
which promotes the most vigorous growth is from a
piece torn off, or still better from a sucker, if this is
taken from the root. And, while all the trees which
are propagated thus or by some kind of slip4 seem to
be alike in their fruits to the original tree, those raised
from the fruit, where this method of growing is also
possible, are nearly all inferior, while some quite lose
the character of their kind, as vine apple fig pome-
granate pear. As for the fig,° no cultivated kind is
raised from its seed, but either the ordinary wild fig
or some wild kind is the result, and this often
differs in colour from the parent; a black fig gives a
p
bof. ΟΡ. 1. 9.
11Ὶ
THEOPHRASTUS
lal an ,
γίνεται" ἔκ Te τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς γενναίας ἀγεννής"
\ / “ / SEN \ e >O\
Kal πολλάκις ἕτερον γένος: ὁτὲ δὲ ὅλως οὐδὲν
ἥμερον ἀλλ᾽ ἄγριον ἐνίοτε καὶ τοιοῦτον ὥστε μὴ
ἐκπέττειν τὸν καρπόν" αἱ δ᾽ ὥστε μηδὲ ἁδρύνειν
ἀλλὰ μέχρι τοῦ ἀνθῆσαι μόνον ἀφικνεῖσθαι.
Φύονται δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἐλάας πυρήνων
ἀγριέλαιος, καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς ῥόας κόκκων τῶν
γλυκέων ἀγεννεῖς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀπυρήνων σκληραί,
/ \ \ ’ an ἃς > \ \ ΄
πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ὀξεῖαι. τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον
καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀπίων καὶ ἐκ τῶν “μηλέων' ἐκ μὲν γὰρ
τῶν ἀπίων μοχθηρὰ ἡ ἀχράς, ἐκ δὲ τῶν μηλέων
χείρων τε τῷ γένει καὶ ἐκ γλυκείας ὀξεῖα, καὶ ἐκ
στρουθίου Κυδώνιος. χείρων. δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀμυγδαλῆ
καὶ τῷ χυλῷ καὶ τῷ σκληρὰ ἐκ μαλακῆς" δι᾽ ὃ
καὶ αὐξηθεῖσαν ἐγκεντρίζειν κελεύουσιν, εἰ δὲ μὴ
τὸ μόσχευμα μεταφυτεύειν πολλάκις.
Χείρων δὲ καὶ ἡ δρῦς: ἀπὸ γοῦν THS ἐν Πύρρᾳ
πολλοὶ φυτεύσαντες οὐκ ἐδύνανθ᾽ ὁμοίαν ποιεῖν.
δάφνην δὲ καὶ μυρρίνην διαφέρειν ποτέ φασιν, ὡς
ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ δ᾽ ἐξίστασθαι καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ χρῶμα
΄ > ’ > > lal lal
διασώζειν, arr ἐξ ἐρυθροῦ καρποῦ γίνεσθαι
/ Ψ \ \ > > / ΄
μέλαιναν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν ἐν ᾿Αντάνδρῳ: πολλάκις
\ /
δὲ καὶ τὴν κυπάριττον ἐκ θηλείας ἄρρενα.
μάλιστα δὲ τούτων ὁ φοῖνιξ δοκεῖ διαμένειν
ὥσπερ εἰπεῖν τελείως τῶν ἀπὸ σπέρματος, καὶ
πεύκη ἡ κωνοφόρος καὶ πίτυς ἡ φθειροποιός.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς ἡμερωμένοις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς
1 ᾿ φύονται conj. W.; φυτευονται Ald.H.; φύεται Vo.cod.Cas.
2 yAuKéwy Con]. St.; γλαυκίων UMVAIa.
3 cf. Athen. 3. 20 and 23. iia cel OA sta) Wak al
6’ In Lesbos: cf. 3. 9. & ΟΡ. ὩΣ
112
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. u. 4-6
white, and conversely. Again the seed of an excel-
lent vine produces a degenerate result, which is
often of quite a different kind; and at times this is
not a cultivated kind at all, but a wild one of such a
character that it does not ripen its fruit; with others
again the result is that the seedlings do not even
mature fruit, but only get as far as flowering.
Again the stones of the olive give! a wild olive,
and the seeds of a sweet pomegranate? give a
degenerate kind, while the stoneless kind gives a
hard sort and often an acid fruit. So also is it with
seedlings of pears and apples ; pears give a poor sort
of wild pears, apples produce an inferior kind which is
acid instead of sweet; quince produces wild quince.*
Almond again raised from seed is inferior in taste and
in being hard instead of soft; and this is why men ἢ
bid us graft on to the almond, even when it is fully
grown, or, failing that, frequently plant the offsets.
The oak also deteriorates from seed; at least
many persons having raised trees from acorns of the
oak at Pyrrha® could not produce one like the
parent tree. On the other hand they say that bay
and myrtle sometimes improve by seeding, though
usually they degenerate and do not even keep their
colour, but red fruit gives black—-as happened with
ihe tree in Antandros; and frequently seed of a
‘female ’ cypress produces a ‘ male’ tree. The date-
valm seems to be about the most constant of these
trees, when raised from seed, and also the ‘ cone-
bearing pine’® (stone-pine) and the ‘lice-bearing
pine.’? So much for degeneration in cultivated trees;
among wild kinds it is plain that more in proportion
7 Plin. 16.49. The ‘lice’ are the seeds which were eaten.
cf. Hdt. 4. 109, φθειροτραγέουσι ; Theocr. 5. 49.
113
9
THEOPHRASTUS
> lal 4 \ ’ « >
ἀγριοις δῆλον OTL TAELW κατὰ λόγον ὡς ἰσχυρο-
Ν
τέροις" ἐπεὶ θάτερόν γε καὶ ἄτοπον, εἰ δὴ χείρω
, δ an \ /
καὶ ἐν ἐκείνοις Kal ὅλως ἐν τοῖς ἀπὸ σπέρματος
μόνον: εἰ μή τι τῇ θεραπείᾳ δύνανται μετα-
βάλλειν.
/ δὲ \ , / \ > ἌΝ,
Διαφέρουσι ὃὲ καὶ τόποι τόπων καὶ ἀὴρ ἀέρος"
ἐνιαχοῦ γὰρ ἐκφέρειν ἡ χώρα δοκεῖ τὰ ὅμοια,
, NUNS: ,ὕ > , δ \
καθάπερ καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις: ἀνάπαλιν ὀλίγα Kal
᾽ a ΄ / Ὁ“ > /
ὀλιγαχοῦ λαμβάνειν μεταβολήν, ὥστε EK σπέρ-
ματος ἀγρίου ποιεῖν ἥμερον ἢ ἐκ χείρονος ἁπλῶς
a n / /
βέλτιον: τοῦτο yap ἐπὶ τῆς poas μόνον ἀκηκόαμεν
? ? 7 Ni > / / bd
ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ ἐν Κιλικίᾳ συμβαίνειν: ἐν
> , \ \ \ > an \ an \
Αἰγύπτῳ μὲν yap τὴν ὀξεῖαν καὶ σπαρεῖσαν καὶ
an “Ὁ /
φυτευθεῖσαν γλυκεῖαν γίνεσθαί πως ἢ οἰνώδη"
Ν \ / a / Ἂς \ \
περὶ δὲ Σόλους τῆς Κιλικίας περὶ ποταμὸν τὸν
Πίναρον, οὗ ἡ μάχη πρὸς Δαρεῖον ἐγένετο, πᾶσαι
γίνονται ἀπύρηνοι.
” δὲ \ Μ \ ’ e a /
Εὔλογον δὲ καὶ εἴ τις τὸν Tap ἡμῶν φοίνικα
’ > [οἱ / 4 / \
φυτεύοι ἐν Βαβυλῶνι, κάρπιμόν τε γίνεσθαι Kai
ἐξομοιοῦσθαι τοῖς ἐκεῖ. τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ
εἴ τις ἑτέρα προσάλληλον ἔχει καρπὸν τόπῳ"
κρείττων γὰρ οὗτος τῆς ἐργασίας καὶ τῆς θερα-
a ¢ 4 a
melas. σημεῖον δ᾽ ὅτι μεταφερόμενα τἀκεῖθεν
», N \ Neher > a /
ἄκαρπα Ta δὲ Kal ὅλως ἀβλαστῆ γίνεται.
/ \ \ an a \ \ Ni
Μεταβάλλει δὲ καὶ τῇ τροφῇ καὶ διὰ τὴν
1 2,6. that they should improve from seed.
2 Whereas wild trees are produced only from seed.
5 7.e. improve a degenerate seedling.
4 ἁπλῶς : 20m. Sch. Sucre ΘΝ 09. ὩΣ
114
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. 1. 6-9
degenerate from seed, since the parent trees are
stronger. For the contrary! would be very strange,
seeing that degenerate forms are found even in
cultivated trees,? and among these only in those
which are raised from seed. (As a general rule these
are degenerate, though men may in some cases effect
a change? by cultivation).
Effects of situation, climate, tendance.
Again differences in situation and climate affect the
result. In some places, as at Philippi, the soil seems
to produce plants which resemble their parent ; on
the other hand a few kinds in some few places seem
to undergo a change, so that wild seed gives a
cultivated form, or a poor form one actually better.
We have heard that this occurs, but only with the
pomegranate, in Egypt® and Cilicia; in Egypt a tree
of the acid kind both from seeds and from cuttings
produces one whose fruit has a sort of sweet taste,°
while about Soli in Cilicia near the river Pinaros
(where the battle with Darius was fought) all those
pomegranates raised from seed are without stones.
If anyone were to plant our palm at Babylon, it is
reasonable to expect that it would become fruitful
and like the palms of that country. And so would it
be with any other country which has fruits that are
congenial to that particular locality ; for the locality 7
is more important than cultivation and tendance.
A proot of this is the fact that things transplanted
thence become unfruitful, and in some cases refuse
to grow altogether.
There are also modifications due to feeding § and
6 Or ‘wine-like.’ Cited by Apollon. Hist. Mir. 43.
7 οὗτος conj. W.; αὐτὸς Ald.
8 τῇ τροφῇ conj. W.; τῆς τροφῆς UMVAId.
115
THEOPHRASTUS
ἄλλην ἐπιμέλειαν, οἷς καὶ τὸ ἄγριον ἐξημεροῦται
καὶ αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν ἡμερων ἔνια ἀπαγριοῦται, οἷοι"
poa καὶ ἀμυγδαλῆ. ἤδη δέ τινες καὶ ἐκ κριθῶν
ἀναφῦναί φασι πυροὺς καὶ ἐκ πυρῶν κριθὰς καὶ
10 ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πυθμένος ἄμφω. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν
ὡς μυθωδέστερα δεῖ δέχεσθαι. μεταβάλλει δ᾽
οὖν τὰ μεταβάλλοντα τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον αὐτο-
4 > a \ / ce > , /
μάτως" ἐξαλλαγῇ δὲ χώρας, ὥσπερ ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ
καὶ Κιλικίᾳ περὶ τῶν ῥοῶν εἴπομεν, οὐδὲ διὰ
μίαν θεραπείαν.
\ a \ / ”
Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὅπου Ta κάρπιμα ἄκαρπα
γίνεται, καθάπερ τὸ πέρσιον τὸ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ
€ a > “ ε / \ > ΄ / \
0 φοῖνιξ ἐν τῇ ᾿Ελλάδι καὶ εἰ δή τις κομίσειε τὴν
ἐν Κρήτῃ λεγομένην αἴγειρον. ἔνιοι δέ φασι καὶ
τὴν ὄην ἐὰν εἰς ἀλεεινὸν ἔλθη σφόδρα τόπον
ἄκαρπον γίνεσθαι: φύσει γὰρ “Ψυχρόν. εὔλογον
δὲ ἀμφότερα συμβαίνειν κατὰ τὰς ἐναντιώσεις,
εἴπερ μηδ᾽ ὅλως ἔνια φύεσθαι θέλει μεταβάλ..
λοντα τοὺς τόπους. καὶ κατὰ μὲν τὰς χώρας
αἱ τοιαῦται μεταβολαί.
x \ \ , εὐ ᾽ \ lal /
u Κατὰ δὲ τὴν φυτείαν τὰ ἀπὸ TOV σπερμάτων
φυτευόμενα, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη: παντοῖαι γὰρ αἱ
ἐξαλλαγαὶ καὶ τούτων. τῇ θεραπείᾳ δὲ μετα-
βάλλει poa καὶ ἀμυγδαλῆ:" poa μὲν κόπρον ὑείαν
λαβοῦσα καὶ ὕδατος πλῆθος ῥυτοῦ" ἀμυγδαλῆ δὲ
e / a \ a
ὅταν πάτταλόν τις ἐνθῇ, Kal TO δάκρυον ἀφαιρῇ
Na » , , \ \ ” > a
TO ἐπιρρέον πλείω χρόνον Kal τὴν ἄλλην ἀποδιδῷ
1 ἔνια ἀπαγριοῦται οἷον conj. W.; ἔνια καὶ ἀπορῇ τε pda UV;
ἐς καὶ ἀπορῇ τὰ pda M3 ἐ. καὶ ἀπορρεῖ τὰ ῥόα Ald
2 7.e. cultivation has nothing to do with it.
39.2.7. ‘of. 3.304. 8 Plin. 17. 242.
δ i.e. improve. cf. 2. 2. 6 ad fin.
116
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. 1. 9-11
attention of other kinds, which cause the wild to
become cultivated, or again cause some cultivated
kinds to go wild,! such as pomegranate and almond.
Some say that wheat has been known to be produced
from barley, and barley from wheat, or again both
growing on the same stool; but these accounts should
be taken as fabulous. Anyhow those things which do
change in this manner do so spontaneously,? and the
alteration is due to a change of position (as we said 3
happens with pomegranates in Egypt and Cilicia),
and not to any particular method of cultivation.
So too is it when fruit-bearing trees become un-
fruitful, for instance the persion when moved from
Egypt, the date-palm when planted in Hellas, or the
tree which is called ‘poplar’ in Crete,* if anyone
should transplant it. ®Some again say that the
sorb becomes unfruitful if it comes into a very warm
position, since it is by nature cold-loving. It is
reasonable to suppose that both results follow because
the natural circumstances are reversed, seeing that
some things entirely refuse to grow when their place
is changed. Such are the modifications due to
position.
As to those due to method of culture, the changes
which occur in things grown from seed are as was
said ; (for with things so grown also the changes are
of all kinds). Under cultivation the pomegranate
and the almond change character,® the pomegranate
if it receives pig-manure ’ and a great deal of river
water, the almond if one inserts a peg and § removes for
some time the gum which exudes and gives the other
ΤΟ ΟΕ 23 1402). 329.35 bling A 7,209 Cols. 10:15
and 16.
Bcf. 2. JO; Coe. VA IO 2a Bling 17. 90».
117
THEOPHRASTUS
/ a
ι2 θεραπείαν. ὡσαύτως δὲ δῆλον ὅτι καὶ ὅσα
la a / a lal
éEnuepovTat τῶν ἀγρίων ἢ ἀπαγριοῦται τῶι
/ \ \ \ ’ \ ᾽
ἡμέρων: τὰ μὲν γὰρ θεραπείᾳ τὰ δ᾽ ἀθεραπευσίᾳ
\
μεταβάλλει: πλὴν εἴ τις λέγοι μηδὲ μεταβολὴν
> 3479 / ? Ν / > \ “ ’
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπίδοσιν εἰς TO βέλτιον εἶναι καὶ χείρον" οὐ
\ “-
γὰρ οἷόν τε τὸν κότινον ποιεῖν ἐλάαν οὐδὲ τὴν
a / \ N nr «
ἀχράδα ποιεῖν ἄπιον οὐδὲ τὸν ἐρινεὸν συκῆν. ὃ
γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοτινου φασὶ συμβαινειν, ὥστ᾽ ἐὰν
\ \ ἢ ty a
περικοπεὶς τὴν θαλίαν ὅλως μεταφυτευθῇ φέρειν
᾽ ’ , ΄
φαυλίας, μετακίνησις TLS γίνεται οὐ μεγάλη.
A \ = ς , ὃ a a ἡθὲ BAN
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁποτέρως δεῖ λαβεῖν οὐθὲν ἂν
διαφέροι.
\ ’ , \ fal
Ill. Φασὶ δ᾽ οὖν αὐτομάτην τινὰ γίνεσθαι τῶν
[ὦ \ “ lal
τοιούτων μεταβολήν, OTE μὲν τῶν καρπῶν OTE δὲ
σ. > n n , ¢ a
καὶ ὅλως αὐτῶν τῶν δένδρων, ἃ καὶ σημεῖα νομί-
/ / a a
ζουσιν οἱ μάντεις: οἷον poav ὀξεῖαν γλυκεῖαν
» “ \ a ’ a \ 4 « a
ἐξενεγκεῖν Kal γλυκεῖαν ὀξεῖαν: καὶ πάλιν ἁπλῶς
/ “
αὐτὰ τὰ δένδρα μεταβάλλειν, ὥστε ἐξ ὀξείας
a ’ὔ > o a
γλυκεῖαν γίνεσθαι καὶ ἐκ γλυκείας ὀξεῖαν: χεῖρον
nr \ fal
δὲ τὸ εἰς γλυκεῖαν μεταβάλλειν. καὶ ἐξ ἐρινεοῦ
a a , a
συκῆν Kal ἐκ συκῆς ἐρινεόν: χεῖρον δὲ TO ἐκ
a \ / ῇ \
συκῆς. Kal ἐξ ἐλάας κότινον Kal ἐκ κοτίνου
> s Ὁ \ a / δὲ a bd
ἐλάαν: ἥκιστα δὲ τοῦτο. πάλιν δὲ συκῆν ἐκ
' περικοπεὶς conj. W.; περισκοπτεῖς U; περικόπτης Ald.
2 φαυλίας conj. Salm.; φαύλους U; θάλος Ald. cf. Plin.
16. 244. These olives produced little oil, but were valued
for perfumery : see C. P. 6. 8. 3 and 5; de odor., 15.
3 οὐ add. Salm.; om. MSS. (ἢ Ald. H.
118
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. u. r1-u1. 1
attention required. In like manner plainly some wild
things become cultivated and some cultivated things
become wild; for the one kind of change is due to
cultivation, the other to neglect :—however it might
be said that this is not a change but a natural
development towards a better or an inferior form;
(for that it is not possible to make a wild olive pear
or fig into a cultivated olive pear or fig). As to that
indeed which is said to occur in the case of the wild
olive, that if the tree is transplanted with its top-
growth entirely cut off,! it produces ‘ coarse olives,’ 2
this is ΠΟ 3 very great change. However it can make
no difference which way ‘ one takes this.
Of spontaneous changes in the character of trees, and of certain
marvels.
III. °Apart from these changes it is said that in such
plants there is a spontaneous kind of change, some-
times of the fruit, sometimes of the tree itself as a
whole, and soothsayers call such changes portents. For
instance, an acid pomegranate, it is said, may produce
sweet fruit, and conversely; and again, in general,
the tree itself sometimes undergoes a change, so that
it becomes sweet ® instead of acid, or the reverse
happens. And the change to sweet is considered a
worse portent. Again a wild fig may turn into a
cultivated one, or the contrary change take place;
and the latter is a worse portent. So again a culti-
vated olive may turn into a wild one, or conversely,
but the latter change is rare. So again a white fig
42,6. whether nature or man is said to cause the admitted
change. ΒΤ W242:
ὁ 5,6. all the fruit is now acid instead of sweet, or the
reverse, Sch. brackets ἐξ ὀξείας... ὀξεῖαν.
119
THEOPHRASTUS
λευκῆς μέλαιναν Kal ἐκ μελαίνης λευκήν. ὁμοίως
δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ ἀμπέλου.
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὡς τέρατα καὶ παρὰ φύσιν ὑπο-
λαμβάνουσιν: ὅσα δὲ συνήθη τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲ
θαυμάζουσιν ὅλως" οἷον τὸ τὴν κάπνειον ἄμπελον
καλουμένην καὶ ἐκ μέλανος βότρυος λευκὸν καὶ
ἐκ λευκοῦ μέλανα φέρειν: οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ μάντεις τὰ
τοιαῦτα κρίνουσιν" ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνα, παρ᾽ οἷς
πέφυκεν ἡ “χώρα μεταβάλλειν, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη
περὶ τῆς ῥόας ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ" ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐνταῦθα
αυμαστόν, διὰ τὸ μίαν μόνον ἢ δύο, καὶ ταύτας
ἐν τῷ παντὶ χρόνῳ σπανίας. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ εἴπερ
συμβαίνει, μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς καρποῖς γίνεσθαι τὴν
παραλλαγὴν ἢ ἐν ὅλοις τοῖς δένδροις.
᾿Επεὶ καὶ τοιαύτη τις ἀταξία γίνεται περὶ τοὺς
καρπούς: οἷον ἤδη ποτὲ συκῆ τὰ σῦκα ἔφυσεν ἐκ
τοῦ ὄπισθεν τῶν θρίων: καὶ ῥόα δὲ καὶ ἄμπελος
ἐκ τῶν στελεχῶν, καὶ ἄμπελος ἄνευ φύλλων καρ-
Tov ἤνεγκεν. ἐλάα δὲ τὰ μὲν φύλλα ἀπέβαλε τὸν
δὲ καρπὸν ἐξήνεγκεν" ὃ καὶ Θετταλῷ τῷ ἸΠεισι-
στράτου γενέσθαι λέγεται. συμβαίνει δὲ καὶ διὰ
χειμῶνας τοῦτο καὶ δι᾽ ἄλλας αἰτίας ἔνια τῶν
δοκούντων εἶναι παρὰ λόγον οὐκ ὄντων δέ' οἷον
ἐλάα ποτ᾽ ἀποκαυθεῖσα τελέως ἀνεβλάστησεν
ὅλη, καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ ἡ θαλία. ἐν δὲ τῇ Βοιωτίᾳ
καταβρωθέντων τῶν ἐρνῶν ὑπ᾽ ἀττελέβων πάλιν
1 ἐπὶ conj. Sch.; ἐξ ΑἸὰ.Η.
ΞΟ ΠΡ Land 2; Arist. de gen. an. Ὁ as Hesych.
8.v. katvias; Schol. ad Ar. Vesp. 151. δ το 2.7.
* εἰκὸς has perhaps dropped out. Sch.
5 @plwy conj. Ἐν. Const., cf C.P. 5. 1. 7 and 8; 5. 2. 2;
ἐρινεῶν P,Ald. cf. also Athen. 3. 11.
I20
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. m1. 1-3
may change into a black one, and conversely; and
similar changes occur in! the vine.
Now these changes they interpret as miraculous
and contrary to nature; but they do not even feel
any surprise at the ordinary changes, for instance,
when the ‘smoky’ vine,? as it is called, produces
alike white grapes instead of black or black grapes
instead of white. Of such changes the soothsayers
take no account, any more than they do of those
instances in which the soil produces a natural change,
as was said ὃ of the pomegranate in Egypt. But it is
surprising when such a change occurs in our own
country, because there are only one or two instances
and these separated by wide intervals of time. How-
ever, if such changes occur, it is natural4 that the
variation should be rather in the fruit than in the tree
asa whole. In fact the following irregularity also
occurs in fruits ; a fig-tree has been known to produce
its figs from behind the leaves,> pomegranate and
vines from the stem, while the vine has been known
to bear fruit without leaves. The olive again has
been known to lose its leaves and yet produce its
fruit; this is said to have happened to Thettalos,
son of Pisistratus. ‘This may be due to inclement
weather; and some changes, which seem to be
abnormal, but are not really so, are due to other
accidental causes ; ®for instance, there was an olive
that, after being completely burnt down, sprang up
again entire, the tree and all its branches. And in
Boeotia an olive whose young shoots’ had been eaten
off by locusts grew again: in this case however ® the
6 cf. Hdt. 8. 55; Plin. 17. 241.
7 ἐρνῶν conj. Sch.; ἔργων P,Ald.; κλάδων mU.
8 7.e. the portent was not so great as in the other case
quoted, as the tree itself had not been destroyed.
121
THEOPHRASTUS
’ / \ ᾽ ? > / e/ ’
ἀνεβλάστησε' τὰ δ᾽ οἷον ἀπέπεσεν. ἥκιστα ὃ
» \ nr τ
ἴσως τὰ τοιαῦτα ἄτοπα διὰ τὸ φανερὰς ἔχειν τὰς
eee 3 \ fe \ Ne 9 la > , ,
aiTias, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον TO μὴ EK τῶν οἰκείων TOTTWY
/ \ \ /
φέρειν τοὺς καρποὺς ἢ μὴ οἰκείους" καὶ μάλιστα δ᾽
, fel . ΄ A / /
εἰ τῆς ὅλης φύσεως γίνεται μεταβολή, καθώπερ
/ \ \ 5 \ / a
ἐλέχθη. περὶ μὲν οὖν τὰ δένδρα τοιαῦται
,
τινές εἰσι μεταβολαί.
n \ f ‘ , ’ ,
IV. Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τό τε σισύμβριον εἰς piv-
a / \ \ a
Gav δοκεῖ μεταβάλλειν, ἐὰν μὴ κατεχηται TH
, x A ᾿ .
θεραπείᾳ, δι’ ὃ Kal μεταφυτεύουσι πολλάκις, καὶ
΄ x 9 -“ \ al ᾽ὔ
ὁ πυρὸς εἰς αἷραν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς δένδροις
, \ ’ “
αὐτομάτως, εἴπερ γίνεται. τὰ δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἐπετείοις
\ fal , \ \
διὰ παρασκευῆς" οἷον ἡ τίφη καὶ ἡ Cera μετα-
᾽ \ \ a ,
βάλλουσιν εἰς πυρὸν ἐὰν πτισθεῖσαι σπείρωνται,
\ Ares ᾽ > \ > \ a , » Ν
καὶ τοῦτ᾽ οὐκ εὐθὺς ἀλλὰ τῷ τρίτῳ ἔτει. σχεδὸν
tal / a Ἂ /
δὲ παραπλήσιον τοῦτό γε τῷ TA σπέρματα κατὰ
\ \
Tas χώρας μεταβάλλειν: μεταβάλλει yap Kal
fal ᾽ A
ταῦτα καθ᾽ ἑκάστην χώραν καὶ σχεδὸν ἐν TO ἴσῳ
/ \ ς / 4 \ \ «
χρόνῳ καὶ ἡ τίφη. μεταβάλλουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ
\ \ . \ /
ἄγριοι πυροὶ καὶ αἱ κριθαὶ θεραπευόμεναι καὶ
/ \ \ ,
ἐξημερούμεναι κατὰ τὸν ἴσον χρόνον.
“ , a
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἔοικε χώρας Te μεταβολῇ Kar
, ͵ ἈΠ Ἂν > / \ \ nw
θεραπείᾳ γίνεσθαι καὶ ἔνια ἀμφοτέροις, τὰ δὲ τῇ
θεραπείᾳ μόνον" οἷον πρὸς τὸ τὰ ὄσπρια μὴ γίνε-
σθαι ἀτεράμονα βρέξαντα κελεύουσιν ἐν νίτρῳ
1 οἰκείου" καὶ I conj.; οἰκειοῦται UMV; οἰκείως ΑἸα.Ή. ; ἐοικότας
conj. W. 2 εἰ ins. Sch. aera he
‘cf. 6. 7. 23 Plin. 19. 176.
5 i.e. to prevent the change which cultivated soil induces.
122
ENQUIRY ANTOUPEANRS ΤΠ 12-1) 2
shoots had, so to speak, only been shed. But after
all such phenomena are perhaps far from strange,
since the cause in each case is obvious; rather is it
strange that trees should bear fruit not at the places
where it naturally forms, or else fruit which does not
belong to the character! of the tree. And most
surprising of all is it when,? as has been said,’
there is a change in the entire character of the
tree. Such are the changes which occur in trees,
ΟἹ spontaneous and other changes in other plants.
IV. 4 Of other plants it appears that bergamot-mint
turns into cultivated mint, unless it is fixed by special
attention ; and this is why men frequently transplant °
it; §so too wheat turns into darnel. Now in trees
such changes, if they occur, are spontaneous, but in
annual plants they are deliberately brought about:
for instance, one-seeded wheat and rice-wheat change’
into wheat, if bruised before they are sown; and
this does not happen at once, but in the third year.
This change resembles that produced in the seeds by
difference of soil’; for these grains vary according
to the soil, and the change takes about the same
time as that which occurs in one-seeded wheat.
Again wild wheats and barleys also with tendance
and cultivation change in a like period.
These changes appear to be due to change of soil
and cultivation, and in some cases the change is due
to both, in others to cultivation alone; for instance,
in order that pulses may not become uncookable,®
6 But see reff. under αὔρα in Index.
ΠΡ Gob. 5. 0515. bin. 18.98.
8 χώραν conj. St.; ὥραν Ald.H.
9 Grepduova conj. W.; ἀτέραμνα UAld. ef. 8. 8. 6 and 7;
CP) 4.752374, 12.1 and’8 ;"Geop. 2.35.25) 2. 41°
123
4
THEOPHRASTUS
νύκτα τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ σπείρειν ἐν ξηρᾷ: φακοὺς ὦ ὥστε
ἁδροὺς γίνεσθαι φυτεύουσιν ἐν Bonito τοὺς
ἐρεβίνθους δέ, ὥστε “μεγάλους, αὐτοῖς τοῖς κελύ-
φεσι βρέξαντα σπείρειν. μεταβάλλουσι δὲ καὶ
κατὰ τὰς ὥρας τοῦ σπόρου πρὸς κουφότητα καὶ
ἀλυπίαν' οἷον ἐάν τις τοὺς ὀρόβους ἐαρινοὺς
σπείρῃ τρισάλυποι γίνονται, καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ μετο-
πωρινοὶ βαρεῖς.
"νεται δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς λαχάνοις “μεταβολὴ
διὰ τὴν θεραπείαν" οἷον τὸ σέλινον, ἐὰν σπαρὲν
καταπατηθῇ καὶ κυλινδρωθῇ, ἀναφύεσθαί φασιν
οὗλον. μεταβάλλει δὲ καὶ τὴν χώραν ἐξαχλάτ-
τοντα, καθάπερ καὶ τἄλλα. καὶ τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα
κοινὰ πάντων ἐστίν. εἰ δὲ κατά τινα πήρωσιν ἢ
ἀφαίρεσιν μέρους δένδρον ἄγονον γίνεται, καθά-
περ τὰ ζῶα, τοῦτο σκεπτέον" οὐδὲν γοῦν φανερὸν
κατά γε τὴν διαίρεσιν εἰς τὸ πλείω καὶ ἐλάττω
έρειν ὥσπερ κακούμενον, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἀπόλλυται τὸ
ὅλον ἢ διαμένον καρποφορεῖ. τὸ δὲ γῆρας κοινή
τις φθορὰ πᾶσιν.
"Atotrov δ᾽ ἂν δόξειε μᾶλλον εἰ ἐν τοῖς ζώοις
αἱ τοιαῦται μεταβολαὶ φυσικαὶ καὶ πλείους" καὶ
γὰρ κατὰ τὰς ὥρας ἔνια δοκεῖ μεταβάλλειν, ὥσ-
περ ὁ ἱέραξ καὶ ἔποψ καὶ ἄλλα τῶν ὁμοίων
ὀρνέων. καὶ κατὰ τὰς τῶν τόπων ἀλλοιώσεις,
ὥσπερ ὁ ὕδρος εἰς ἔχιν ξηραινομένων τῶν λιβά-
1 νύκτα I conj.; νυκτὶ MSS.
2 ἐν βολίτῳ conj. Milas. on Geop. 3. 27; ἔμβολον UMV
Ald. cf. OP. 5. 0. 11 Col: 2, 10; 15: ῬΊΤΟΣ 18: 108:
F ef COR.W&. 611: Geop. 2 + ees Ὁ.
4 ἀλυπίαν conj. Sch.; δι daAuntas M ; δι᾽ ἀλυπίαν Ald.
124
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. tv. 2-4
men bid one moisten the seed in nitre for a night }
and sow it in dry ground the next day. To make
lentils vigorous they plant the seeds in dung?; to
make chick-peas large they bid one moisten the
seed while still in the pods,? before sowing. Also
the time of sowing makes differences which conduce
to digestibility and harmlessness *: thus, if one sows
vetches°® in spring, they become quite harmless and
are not indigestible like those sown in autumn.
Again in pot-herbs change is produced by culti-
vation ; for instance, they say that,° if celery seed
is trodden and rolled in after sowing, it comes up
curly; it also varies from change of soil, like other
things. Such variations are common to all; we must
now consider whether a tree, like animals, becomes
unproductive from mutilation or removal of a part.
At all events it does not appear that division? is an
injury, as it were, which affects the amount of fruit
produced; either the whole tree perishes, or else,
if it survives,’ it bears fruit. Old age however is a
cause which in all plants puts an end to life. .. . .9
It would seem more surprising if !° the following
changes occurred in animals naturally and frequently ;
some animals do indeed seem to change according to
the seasons, for instance, the hawk the hoopoe and
other similar birds. So also changes in the nature
of the ground produce changes in animals, for instance,
the water-snake changes into a viper, if the marshes
> cf. Plin. 18. 139; Col. 2. 10. 34.
ef Cer. δ. 0. ἢ; Οδορὶ 12.23: 2.
7 ye conj. Sch.; re Ald.
8 διάμενον conj. Sch.; διαμένοντα Ald.
® Something seems to have been lost at the end of 8 3.
10 εἰ ins. Sch.; τοιαῦται may however mean ‘the above-
mentioned,’ and refer to something which has been lost.
125
THEOPHRASTUS
ὃ ts be \ \ \ 4 »
ων. φανερώτατα δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὰς γενέσεις ἔνια,
\
καὶ μεταβάλλει διὰ πλειόνων ζἕξωων; οἷον ἐκ
/ / \ ΙΒ. Ὶ » / ,
κάμπης γίνεται χρυσαλλὶς ELT ἐκ ταύτης Ψυχὴ;
ae: eae HE rafts. \ a , ΣΧ »
καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄλλων δ᾽ ἐστὶ τοῦτο πλειόνων, οὐδὲν ἴσως
7 Ὁ ὦ Ν ΄ > 2.3 a
ἄτοπον, οὐδ᾽ ὅμοιον TO ζητούμενον. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνο
/ Χ \ / \ .“ lal Ἁ
συμβαίνει περὶ τὰ δένδρα καὶ ὅλως πᾶσαν τὴν
ef [χὰ > 4 \ / Ὁ bY ΄,
ὕλην, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη καὶ πρότερον, ὥστε αὐτομά-
a /
την μεταβλαστάνειν μεταβολῆς τινος γινομένης
a , δ
ἐκ τῶν οὐρανίων τοιαύτης. τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ
\ / \ \ ᾽ ΄ ,
Tas γενέσεις καὶ μεταβολὰς ἐκ τούτων θεωρητέον.
᾽ ΄ a
V. ᾿Επεὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ ἐργασίαι καὶ αἱ θεραπεῖαι
/ / \ ” , t
μεγάλα συμβάλλονται, Kal ETL πρότερον αἱ
cr r /
φυτεῖαι καὶ ποιοῦσι μεγάλας διαφοράς, λεκτέον
ν Vd
καὶ περὶ τούτων.
\ an AN “-“ ΓΟ e \ iy
Kat πρῶτον περὶ τῶν φυτειῶν. at μὲν οὗν
ιν , ” » ἃ a \ \ \
ὧραι πρότερον εἴρηνται Kal ἃς δεῖ. τὰ δὲ φυτὰ
΄ ΄, « ,
λαμβάνειν κελεύουσιν ὡς κάλλιστα Kal ἐξ ὁμοίας
a > ἃ / / x A δὲ
γῆς εἰς ἣν μέλλεις φυτεύειν, ἢ χειρονος" τοὺς δὲ
/ / ,
γυροὺς προορύττειν ὡς πλείστου χρόνου καὶ
rc /
βαθυτέρους αἰεὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐπιπολαιορριζοτέροις.
1 7.e. in the instance given the development of an insect
exhibits, not one, but a series of changes from one creature
to another.
2 Whereas the metamorphoses mentioned above are inde-
pendent of climatic conditions.
3 δὲ conj. W.; τε Ald.
4 κάλλιστα conj. W., of. C.P. 3, 24. 1; τάχιστα MVAIA.;
τὰ χίστα U.
126
ENQUIRY ἹΝΤῸ ΡΙΓΑΝΊΘ, ΠΠ{|ιν. 4-ν. 1
dry up. Most obvious are certain changes in regard
to the way in which animals are produced, and such
changes run through a series of creatures!; thus a
caterpillar changes into a chrysalis, and this in turn
into the perfect insect; and the like occurs in a
number of other cases. But there is hardly anything
abnormal in this, nor is the change in plants, which
is the subject of our enquiry, analogous to it. That
kind of change occurs in trees and in all woodland
plants generally, as was said before, and its effect is
that, when a change of the required character occurs
in the climatic conditions, a spontaneous change in
the way of growth ensues.? These instances must
suffice for investigation of the ways in which plants
are produced or modified.
Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation.
V. Since however methods of cultivation and ten-
dance largely contribute, and, before these, methods
of planting, and cause great differences, of these too
we must speak.
And first of methods of planting: as to the seasons,
we have already stated at what seasons one should
plant. Further? we are told that the plants chosen
should be the best possible, and should be taken
from soil resembling that in which you are going to
plant them, or else inferior®; also the holes should
be dug ® as long as possible beforehand, and should
always be deeper than the original holes, even for
those whose roots do not run very deep.
5 i.e. the shift should be into better soil, if possible. ef.
CORN 5. 5:2:
γυροὺς προορύττειν conj. R. Const.; πυροὺς προσορύττειν
6
ΜΑΙ. cf. C.P. 3. 4.1
129
2
THEOPHRASTUS
/ , e >’ / , A
Λέγουσι δέτινες ὡς οὐδεμία κατωτέρω διϊκνεῖται
fn ΄ ᾽ -“ A
τριῶν ἡμιποδίων: δι’ ὃ Kal ἐπιτιμῶσι τοῖς ἐν
7 a
μείζονι βάθει φυτεύουσιν" οὐκ ἐοίκασι δὲ ὀρθῶς
λέγειν ἐπὶ πολλῶν: ἀλλ᾽ ἐὰν ἢ χώματος ἐπιλάβ-
ntat βαθέος ἢ καὶ χώρας τοιαύτης ἢ καὶ τόπου,
a “ \ a /
πολλῷ μακροτέραν ὠθεῖ τὸ τῇ φύσει βαθύρριζον.
"4
πεύκην δέ τις ἔφη μεταφυτεύων μεμοχλευμένην
Ἁ 7 » ,
μείζω τὴν ῥίζαν ἔχειν ὀκτάπηχυν καίπερ οὐχ ὅλης
ἐξαιρεθείσης ἀλλ᾽ ἀπορραγεισης.
\ \ / aN a 5» / e ,
Ta δὲ φυτευτήρια ἐὰν μὲν ἐνδέχηται ὑπόρριζα,
’ \ / a a > \ lal / Ἃ lol ”
εἰ δὲ μή, δεῖ μᾶλλον ἀπὸ τῶν κάτω ἢ TOV ἄνω
/ \ > / \ \ ‘ »
λαμβάνειν, πλὴν ἀμπέλου: καὶ τὰ μὲν ἔχοντα
ῥίζας ὀρθὰ ἐμβάλλειν, τὰ δὲ μὴ ἔχοντα ὑποβάλ-
fal / “ \ A ~
λειν τοῦ φυτευτηρίου ὅσον σπιθαμὴν ἢ μικρῷ
-“ » \ 4 \ lal ig /
ἡγλεῖον. ἔνιοι δὲ κελεύουσι Kal τῶν ὑπορρίζων
ἶ, /
ὑποβαλλειν, τιθέναι δὲ Kal THY θέσιν ὁμοίως ἥνπερ
nr \ I
εἶχεν ἐπὶ τῶν δένδρων Ta πρόσβορρα Kal τὰ πρὸς
Ὁ \ \ \ / id \ > 7
ἕω καὶ τὰ πρὸς μεσημβρίαν. ὅσα δὲ ἐνδέχεται
τῶν φυτῶν καὶ προμοσχεύειν' τὰ μὲν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν
a / 2 ’ / > / / n a
των δένδρων, οἷον ἐλάας ἀπίου μηλέας συκῆς" τὰ
δ᾽ ἀφαιροῦντας, οἷον ἀμπέλου" ταύτην γὰρ οὐχ
οἷόν τε ἐπ’ αὐτῆς μοσχεύειν.
> x δὲ \ e / \ \ δὲ id ,
Kav δὲ μὴ ὑπόρριζα τὰ φυτὰ μηδὲ ὑπόπρεμνα
1 ἀλλ᾽ ἐὰν... τοιούτου. ἐὰν ἣ μὲν σώματος M ; so V, but ῇ ;
hom. PAld.; χώματος H ; κενώματος for σώματος and εὐδιόδου
for ἢ καὶ τόπου conj. W. χώρας refers to exposure, etc.,
τόπου (86. τοιούτου) to quality of soil: so G.
2 Plin. 16. 129; Xen. Cec. 19. 3. SoC. 2x3. ἃ.
128
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. v. 2-4
Some say that no root goes down further than a
foot and a half, and accordingly they blame those who
plant deeper. However there are many instances
in which it appears that what they say does not
hold good; a plant which is naturally deep-rooting
pushes much deeper if it finds either a deep mass
of soil or a position which favours such growth or
again the kind of ground which favours it.! In fact,?
aman once said that when he was transplanting a
fir which he had uprooted with levers, he found that
it had a root more than eight cubits long, though
the whole of it had not been removed, but it was
broken off.
The slips for planting should be taken, if possible,
with roots attached, or, failing that, from the lower ὃ
rather than from the higher parts of the tree, except
in the case of the vine ; those that have roots should
be set upright, while in the case of those which
have none about® a handsbreadth or rather more οἱ
the slip should be buried. Some say that part even
of those which have roots should be buried, and that
the position ® should be the same as that of the tree
from which the slip was taken, facing north or east
or south, as the case may be. With those plants
with which it is possible, shoots from the boughs
should also, they say, be planted, some being set on
the trees themselves,’ as with olive pear apple and
fig, but in other cases, as in that of the vine, they
must be set separately, for that the vine cannot be
grafted on itself.
If the slips cannot be taken with root or stock
4 cf. C.P. 3.6. 4; Xen. Oec. 19. 9:
ὃ ὅσον conj. Sch.; οἷον P,Ald.
δ ot (ὦ ἘΣ 9: δ Ὁ. 7 +.¢. grafted.
129
6
THEOPHRASTUS
λαμβάνειν, καθάπερ τῆς ἐλάας, σχίσαντά τε τὸ
ξύλον κάτωθεν καὶ λίθον ἐμβαλόντα φυτεύειν'
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐλάας καὶ συκῆς καὶ τῶν ad-
λων. φυτεύεται δὲ ἡ συκῆ καὶ ἐάν τις κράδην
παχεῖαν ἀποξύνας σφύρᾳ παίῃ, ἄχρι οὗ ἂν
ἀπολίπῃ μικρὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς γῆς, εἶτ᾽ αὐτῆς ἄμμον
βαλὼν ἄνωθεν ἐπιχώσῃ' καὶ γίνεσθαι δή φασι
καὶ καλλίω ταῦτα τὰ φυτά, μέχρι οὗ ἂν ἢ
νέα.
Παραπλησία καὶ τῶν ἀμπέλων, ὅταν ἀπὸ
τοῦ παττάλου' προοδοποιεῖ γὰρ ὁ πάτταλος
ἐκείνῳ τῷ κλήματι, διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν: φυ-
τεύουσιν οὕτω καὶ ῥόαν καὶ ἄλλα τῶν δένδρων.
ἡ συκῆ δέ, ἐὰν ἐν σκίλλῃ φυτευθῇ, θᾶττον παρα-
γίνεται καὶ ἧττον ὑπὸ σκωλήκων κατεσθίεται.
ὅλως δὲ πᾶν ἐν σκίλλῃ “φυτευόμενον εὐβλαστὲς
καὶ θᾶττον αὐξάνεται. ὅσα δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ,στελέχους
καὶ διακοπτόμενα φυτεύεται, κάτω τρέποντα τὴν
τομὴν δεῖ φυτεύειν, διακόπτειν δὲ μὴ ἐλάττω
σπιθαμιαίων, ὥσπερ, ἐλέχθη, καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν
προσεῖναι" φύεται δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ἔρνη" βλα-
στανόντων δ᾽ ἀεὶ προσχωννύειν, ἄχρι οὗ ἂν γένη-
ται ἄρτιον' αὕτη μὲν οὖν τῆς ἐλάας ἰδία καὶ τοῦ
μυρρίνου, αἱ δ᾽ ἄλλαι κοινότεραι πᾶσιν.
Αριστον δὲ καὶ ῥιζώσασθαι καὶ φυτείας μάλι-
στα τῆς τυχούσης ἡ συκῆ. φυτεύειν δὲ ῥόας μὲν
1 ἡ before τῆς om. W. 2 re τὸ conj. W.; τότε MVP.
3 καὶ τῆς eAalas U; ἐλάας MVP; so W.
4. ἘΠῚ 17/923, Sef. ΘΟ 5. 19:
8 cf. 7. 13. 4; C.P. 5. 6. 10 (where another bulb, σχῖνος, is
mentioned as being put to the same use); Athen. 3. 13;
Plin. 17. 87.
130
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. v. 4-6
attached, as with the olive,! they say that one must ”
split the wood at the lower end and plant with a
stone on top; and the fig and other trees must
be treated in like manner with the olive.’ The fig ‘
is also propagated by sharpening a stout shoot and
driving it in with a hammer, till only a small piece of
it is left above ground, and then piling sand above so
as to earth it up; and they say that the plants thus
raised grow finer up to a certain age.
Similar is the method used with vines, when they
are propagated by the ‘ peg’> method; for the pee
makes a passage for that sort of shoot on account of
its weakness ; and in the same manner men plant the
pomegranate and other trees. The fig progresses
more quickly and is less eaten by grubs, if the cutting
is set in asquill-bulb®; in fact anything so planted is
vigorous and grows faster. All those trees which are
propagated by pieces cut from the stem should be
planted with the cut part downwards,’ and the
pieces cut off should not be less than a handsbreadth in
length, as was said,’ and the bark should be left on.
From such pieces new shoots grow, and as they grow,
one should keep on heaping up earth about them,
till the tree becomes strong.® This kind of propa-
gation is peculiar to the olive and myrtle, while the
others are more or less common to all trees.
The fig is better than any other tree at striking
roots, and will, more than any other tree, grow by
any method of propagation. 1!°We are told that,
7 cf. Geop. 9. 11. 8.
8 2. 5. 3, where however the method of propagation is
different.
9 ἄρτιον Ald.; ἀρτιτελῇ conj. W. (quoad satis corroboretur G ;
donec robur planta capiat Plin. 17. 124); ἄρτιτεων U3; ἄρτι
τέων MV; ἄρτι τεῶν Py. edie Bk On! arin bas
131
THEOPHRASTUS
\ , \ / \ ’ ‘
καὶ μυρρίνους καὶ δάφνας πυκνὰς κελεύουσι, μὴ
/ ἢ , ‘ ~
πλέον διεστώσας ἢ ἐννέα πόδας, μηλέας δὲ μικρῷ
, / 5) a
μακρότερον, ἀπίους δὲ Kal ὄγχνας ἔτι μᾶλλον,
> lal \ \ cal nr / ς /
ἀμυγδαλᾶς δὲ καὶ συκᾶς πολλῷ πλέον, ὡσαύτως
δὲ \ \ ὅλ, / a θ δὲ \ \ Ἁ
€ καὶ τὴν ἐλάαν. ποιεῖσθαι δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸν
/ \ \ a a
τόπον τὰς ἀποστάσεις" ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ὀρεινοῖς ἐλάτ-
Tous ἢ ἐν τοῖς πεδεινοῖς.
᾽ al \ ,
Μέγιστον δὲ ws εἰπεῖν TO THY πρόσφορον
/ / \ n
ἑκάστῳ χώραν ἀποδιδόναι: τότε γὰρ εὐθενεῖ
/ c oP Se lal ’ a > / \ Ν nr
μάλιστα. ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἐλάᾳ μὲν καὶ συκῇ
Ψ
καὶ ἀμπέλῳ τὴν πεδεινήν φασιν οἰκειοτάτην εἶναι,
na 7 \ /
Tots δὲ ἀκροδρύοις τὰς ὑπωρείας. χρὴ δὲ καὶ ἐν
wUTOIS τοῖς ὁμογενέσι μὴ ἀγνοεῖν τὰς οἰκείας. ἐν
πλείστῃ δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν διαφορᾷ τὰ τῶν ἀμπέλων
{ “ la) /
ἐστίν: ὅσα yap ἐστι γῆς εἴδη, τοσαῦτά τινές φασι
καὶ ἀμπέλων εἶναι. φυτευόμενα μὲν οὖν κατὰ
/ 9 \ ’ \ ΄ \ v
φύσιν ἀγαθὰ γίνεσθαι παρὰ φύσιν δὲ ἄκαρπα.
a “ \
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὥσπερ κοινὰ πάντων.
a /
VI. Τῶν δὲ φοινίκων ἴδιος ἡ φυτεία παρὰ
bes \ ς \ a / ΄,
τἄλλα καὶ ἡ μετὰ ταῦτα θεραπεία. φυτεύουσι
\ , ᾽ ἂν ΟΝ , ΄ ͵΄ \ ,
yap πλείους εἰς ταὐτὸ τιθέντες δύο κάτω καὶ δύο
ἄνωθεν ἐπιδοῦντες, πρανεῖς δὲ πάντας. τὴν γὰρ
“ / a
ἔκφυσιν οὐκ EK τῶν ὑπτίων καὶ κοίλων ποιεῖται,
7 , bd 4 τα a » ΓΝ \
καθάπερ τινές φασιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω, δι᾿ ὃ Kal
“ lal / lal
ἐν τῇ ἐπιζεύξει τῶν ἐπιτιθεμένων ov δεῖ περικα-
\
λύπτειν τὰς ἀρχὰς ὅθεν ἡ ἔκφυσις" φανεραὶ δ᾽
1 ἐλάαν conj. Bod. (cf. Plin. 17. 88) ; ῥοιὰν UAld.H.
2 ἐλάττονι conj. Sch.; ἔλαττον Ald.
3 ὦ 6. apples pears plums, etc.
132
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. v. 6-s1. 1
in planting the pomegranate myrtle or bay, one
should set two trees close together, not further
than nine feet apart, apples a little further, pears and
wild pears still further, almonds and figs further still,
and in like manner the olive.!. Again the distance
apart must be regulated by the nature of the ground,
being less 2 in hilly parts than in low ground.
Most important of all, one may say, is it to assign
to each the suitable soil; for then is the tree most
vigorous. Speaking generally, they say that low
ground is most suitable for the olive fig and vine,
and the lower slopes of hills for fruit trees.? Nor
should one fail to note what soil suits each variety
even of those closely related. There is the greatest
difference, one may say, between the different kinds of
vine: for they say that there are as many kinds of vine
as there are of soil. If they are planted as their
nature requires, they turn out well, if otherwise, they
are unfruitful. And these remarks apply almost
equally to all trees.
Of the propagation of the date-palm ; of palms in general.
VI. The method of propagating date-palms is
peculiar and exceptional, as also is their subsequent
cultivation. They plant several seeds together,
putting two below and two above, which are fastened
on; but all face downwards.’ For germination starts
not, as some say, from the ‘ reverse’ or hollow side,®
but from the part’ which is uppermost; wherefore
in joining on the seeds which are placed above one
must not cover up the points from which the growth
4 Plin. 13. 32.
* 4.e. with the grooved side downwards.
6 7.e. the grooved side, 7 χ,6. the round side.
THEOPHRASTUS
εἰσι τοῖς ἐμπείροις. διὰ τοῦτο δ᾽ εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ
πλείους τιθέασιν ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀσθενὴς ἡ
φυτεία. τούτων δὲ αἴ τε ῥίζαι πρὸς ἀλλήλας
συμπλέκονται καὶ εὐθὺς αἱ πρῶται βλαστήσεις,
ὥστε ἕν γίνεσθαι τὸ στέλεχος.
Ἢ μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν φυτεία τοιαύτη
τις" ἡ δ᾽ ἀφ᾽ αὑτοῦ, ὅταν ἀφέλωσι τὸ ἄνω ἐν
ᾧπερ ὁ ἐγκέφαλος" ἀφαιροῦσι δὲ ὅσον "δίπηχυ"
σχίσαντες δὲ τοῦτο κάτω τιθέασι τὸ ὑγρόν' φιλεῖ
δὲ χώραν ἁλμώδη: δι’ ὃ καὶ ὅπου μὴ τοιαύτη
τυγχάνει περιπάττουσιν ἅλας οἱ γεωργοί: τοῦτο
δὲ δεῖ ποιεῖν μὴ περὶ αὐτὰς τὰς ῥίξας ἀλλ᾽ ἄποθεν
ἀποστήσαντα περιπάττειν ὅσον ἡμίεκτον' ὅτι δὲ
τοιαύτην ητεῖ χώραν κἀκεῖνο ποιοῦνται σημεῖον"
πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὅπου πλῆθος φοινίκων ἁλμώδεις αἱ
χῶραι: καὶ γὰρ ἐν Βαβυλῶνί φασιν, ὅπου οἱ
φοίνικες πεφύκασι, καὶ ἐν Λιβύῃ δὲ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ
καὶ Φοινίκῃ καὶ τῆς Συρίας δὲ τῆς κοίλης, ἐν ny
οἱ πλεῖστοι τυγχάνουσιν, ἐν τρισὶ μόνοις τόποις
ἁλμώδεσιν εἶναι τοὺς δυναμένους θησαυρίζεσθαι:
τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐ διαμένειν ἀλλὰ σήπεσθαι,
χλωροὺς δ᾽ ἡδεῖς εἶναι καὶ καταναλίσκειν οὕτω.
Φιλεῖ δὲ καὶ ὑδρείαν σφόδρα τὸ δένδρον" περὶ
δὲ κόπρου διαμφισβητοῦσιν' οἱ μὲν γὰρ οὔ φασι
χαίρειν ἀλλ᾽ ἐναντιώτατον εἶναι, οἱ δὲ καὶ
χρῆσθαι καὶ ἐπίδοσιν πολλὴν ποιεῖν. δεῖν. δ᾽
ὑδρεύειν εὖ μάλα κατὰ τῆς κόπρου, καθάπερ οἱ ἐν
1 2.6. ‘ cabbage.’
2 τρῦτο. . . ὑγρόν: I have inserted δὲ, otherwise retaining
the reading of Ald.; τούτου κάτω" τιθέασι δ᾽ ἔνυγρον conj.W.
cf. Plin. 13. 36. τὸ ὑγρόν, viz. the cut end.
3 ἁλμώδη conj. W.; ἀμμώδη P,Ald.H.
134
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. 1-3
is to come; and these can be recognised by experts.
And the reason why they set several together is that
a plant that grows from one only is weak. The roots
which grow from these seeds become entangled
together and so do the first shoots from the very
start, so that they combine to make a single stem,
Such is the method of growing from the fruits.
But propagation is also possible from the tree itself,
by taking off the top, which contains the ‘head.’ !
They take off about two cubits’ length, and, splitting
it, set the moist end.?_ It likes a soil which contains
salt ?; wherefore, where such soil is not available,
the growers sprinkle salt about it; and this must not
be done about the actual roots: one must keep the
salt some way off and sprinkle about a gallon. To
shew that it seeks such a soil they offer the following
proof ; wherever date-palms grow abundantly, the
soil is salt,* both in Babylon, they say, where the tree
is indigenous, in Libya in Egypt and in Phoenicia ;
while in Coele-Syria, where are* most palms, only in
three districts, they say, where the soil is salt, are
dates produced which can be stored ; those that grow
in other districts do not keep, but rot, though when
fresh they are sweet and men use® them at that
stage.
‘The tree is likewise very fond of irrigation; as
to dung there is a difference of opinion: some say
that the date-palm does not like it, but that it is most
injurious, others that it gladly accepts ὃ it and makes
good growth thereby, but plenty of water should be
4 ἁλμώδεις conj. W.; ἀμμώδεις Ald. H.
5 ἐν ἧ γ᾽ of conj. W.; ἵν᾽ Ἴνδοι U; ἣν Ἴνδοι MVAId.
καταναλίσκειν Ald.; καταναλίσκεσθαι conj. W.
Plint{13228:
καὶ χρῆσθαι conj. Sch.; κεχρῆσθαι Ald.; ? κεχάρησθαι.
P35
aon an
THEOPHRASTUS
e
Ῥόδῳ. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐπισκεπτέον' ἴσως γὰρ οἱ
μὲν οὕτως οἱ δ᾽ ἐκείνως θεραπεύουσιν, καὶ μετὰ
μὲν τοῦ ὕδατος ὠφέλιμον ἡ κόπρος ἄνευ δὲ τούτου
βλαβερά. ὅταν δὲ ἐνιαύσιος γένηται, μετα-
φυτεύουσι καὶ τῶν ἁλῶν συμπαραβάλλουσι, καὶ
πάλιν ὅταν διετής" χαίρει γὰρ σφόδρα τῇ μετα-
φυτείᾳ.
Μεταφυτεύουσι δὲ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι τοῦ ἦρος" οἱ δὲ
ἐν Βαβυλῶνι περὶ τὸ ἄστρον, ὅτε καὶ ὅλως οἵ γε
πολλοὶ φυτεύουσιν, ὡς καὶ ᾿“παραγινομένου καὶ
αὐξανομένου θᾶττον. νέου μὲν ὄντος οὐχ ἅπτον-
ται, πλὴν ἀναδοῦσι τὴν κόμην, ὅπως ὀρθοφυῆ τ᾿ 7
καὶ αἱ ῥάβδοι μὴ ἀπαρτῶνται. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα
περιτέμνουσιν, ὁπόταν ἁδρὸς ἤδη γένηται καὶ
πάχος ἔχῃ. ἀπολείπουσι δὲ ὅ ὅσον σπιθαμὴν τῶν
ῥάβδων. φέρει δὲ ἕως μὲν ἂν ἡ νέος ἀπύρηνον τὸν
καρπόν, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο πυρηνώδη.
ἼΛλλοι δέ τινες λέγουσιν ὡς οἵ γε κατὰ Συρίαν
οὐδεμίαν προσάγουσιν ἐργασίαν ἀλλ’ ἢ δια-
καθαίρουσι καὶ ἐπιβρέχουσιν, ἐπιζητεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον
τὸ ναματιαῖον ὕδωρ ἢ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Διός" εἶναι δὲ
πολὺ τοιοῦτον ἐν τῷ αὐλῶνι ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰ φοινι-
κόφυτα τυγχάνει, τὸν αὐλῶνα δὲ τοῦτον λέγειν
τοὺς Σύρους ὅτι διατείνει διὰ τῆς ‘A paBias μέχρι
τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης καὶ πολλοὺς φάσκειν
ἐληλυθέναι: τούτου δὲ ἐν τῷ κοιλοτάτῳ πεφυ-
κέναι τοὺς φοίνικας. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τάχ᾽ ἀμφο-
τέρως ἂν εἴη: κατὰ γὰρ τὰς χώρας, ὥσπερ καὶ
ΟΕ ΟΣ Ve 3 Plin. 13. 37.
8 συμπαραβάλλουσι conj. Sch. from ἃ ; συμπαραλαμβάνουσ.
UAld. 4 of; Pling 132-38.
136
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. 3-5
given, after manuring, as the Rhodians use. This
then is matter for enquiry ; it may be that there are
two distinct methods of cultivation, and that dung,
if accompanied by watering,! is beneficial, though
without it it is harmful. * When the tree is a year
old, they transplant it and give plenty 3 of salt, and
this treatment is repeated when it is two years old.
for it delights greatly in being transplanted.
4 Most transplant in the spring, but the people of
Babylon about the rising of the dog-star, and this is
the time when most people propagate it, since it
then germinates and grows more quickly. As long
as it is young, they do not touch it, except that they
tie up the foliage, so that it may grow straight® and
the slender branches may not hang down.® At a
later stage they prune it, when it is more vigorous
and has become a stout tree, leaving the slender
branches only about a handsbreadth long. So long
as it is young, it produces its fruit without a stone,
but later on the fruit has a stone.
However some say that the people of Syria use no
cultivation, except cutting out wood and watering, also
that the date-palm requires spring water rather than
water from the skies ; and that such water is abundant
in the valley in which are the palm-groves. And
they add that the Syrians say that this valley 7
extends through Arabia to the Red Sea,’ and that
many profess to have visited it,? and that it is in the
lowest part of it that the date-palms grow. Now
both accounts may be true, for it is not strange that
5 ὀρθοφυῆ τ᾽ ἢ conj. W.; ὀρθοφύηται P,Ald.
5 ἀπαρτῶνται conj. R. Const.; ἀπορθῶνται P,M Ald.
‘ef. Diod: 8. 41.
8 ¢.e. the Arabian Gulf.
9. ἐληλυθέναι Ald. ; διεληλυθέναι conj. W.
137
THEOPHRASTUS
> \ \ / / \ \ ? , >
αὐτὰ τὰ δένδρα, διαφέρειν καὶ Tas ἐργασίας οὐκ
»).
ἄτοπον.
, \ lal > \ , a \
Γένη δὲ τῶν φοινικων ἐστὶ πλείω: πρῶτον μὲν
a Ν
καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν μεγίστῃ διαφορᾷ τὸ μὲν κάρπιμον
Ν NORM 5 ἣν « \ a /
τὸ δὲ ἄκαρπον, ἐξ ὧν οἱ περὶ Βαβυλῶνα τάς τε
’ 5 4 a
κλίνας Kal τἄλλα σκεύη ποιοῦνται. ἔπειτα τῶν
καρπίμων οἱ μὲν ἄρρενες αἱ δὲ θήλειαι: διαφέρουσι
? ἃ « » r
δὲ ἀλλήλων, καθ᾽ ἃ ὁ μὲν ἄρρην ἄνθος πρῶτον
/ > \ a / e \ / Ν » \
φέρει ἐπὶ τῆς σπάθης, ἡ δὲ θήλεια καρπὸν εὐθὺ
μικρόν. αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν καρπῶν διαφοραὶ πλείους"
/
οἱ μὲν yap ἀπύρηνοι οἱ δὲ μαλακοπύρηνοι' τὰς
\ ς \ \ e \ , ε \ ,
χροιὰς οἱ μὲν λευκοὶ οἱ δὲ μέλανες οἱ δὲ ξανθοί:
τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον οὐκ ἐλάττω χρώματά φασιν εἶναι τῶν
al e a /
συκῶν οὐδ᾽ ἁπλῶς τὰ γένη" διαφέρειν δὲ Kal κατὰ
/
τὰ μεγέθη Kai κατὰ τὰ σχήματα" καὶ yap σφαι-
n / A
ροειδεῖς ἐνίους ὡσανεὶ μῆλα Kal τὰ μεγέθη THAL-
/ \ an
KOUTOUS ὡς τέτταρας εἰς τὸν πῆχυν εἶναι, [ἕπτα
\ > / ” \ \ e 4 »
καὶ εὐπόδους}]" ἄλλους δὲ μικροὺς ἡλίκους ἐρε-
βίνθους. καὶ τοῖς χυλοῖς δὲ πολὺ διαφέροντας.
Κράτιστον δὲ καὶ τῶν λευκῶν καὶ τῶν μελάνων
’
τὸ βασιλικὸν καλούμενον γένος ἐν ἑκατέρῳ καὶ
an γ᾽ “
μεγέθει καὶ ἀρετῇ" σπάνια δ᾽ εἶναι ταῦτα λέγουσι"
Ν fal / a
σχεδὸν yap ἐν μόνῳ τῷ Baywou κήπῳ τοῦ
al fal ? ,
παλαιοῦ περὶ Βαβυλῶνα. ἐν Κύπρῳ δὲ ἴδιόν τι
/ Ν
γένος φοινίκων ἐστὶν ὃ οὐ πεπαίνει τὸν καρπόν,
> te Ν xv SOD ὃ | 4 > \
ἀλλ᾽ ὠμὸς ὧν ἡδὺς σφόδρα Kal γλυκύς ἐστι: τὴν
: > ,
δὲ γλυκύτητα ἰδίαν ἔχει. ἔνιοι δ᾽ ov μόνον δια-
1 Plin. 13. 39.
2 πρῶτον conj. Sch.; πρῶτος UMVAId.
3 πῆχυν conj. R. Const. from Plin. 13. 45. and G, ef. Diod.
2.53; στάχυν UMVAId.
4 ἕπτα καὶ εὐπόδους UMV: the words perhaps conceal a
138
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vr. 5-7
in different soils the methods of cultivation should
differ, like the trees themselves.
1 There are several kinds of palm. To begin with,
to take first the most important difference ;—some
are fruitful and some not; and it is from this latter
kind that the people of Babylon make their beds
and other furniture. Again of the fruitful trees
some are ‘male,’ others ‘female’; and these differ
from one another in that the ‘male’ first? bears a
Hower on the spathe, while the ‘female’ at once
bearsasmall fruit. Again there are various differences
in the fruits themselves ; some have no stones, others
soft stones; as to colour, some are white, some black,
some yellow; and in general they say that there is
not less variety of colour and even of kind than in
figs ; also that they differ in size and shape, some being
round like apples and of such a size that four of them
make up a cubit® in length,...* while others are
small,5 no bigger than chick-peas ; and that there is
also much difference in flavour.
The best kind alike in size and in quality, whether
of the white or black variety, is that which in either
form is called ‘the royal palm’; but this, they say,
is rare; it grows hardly anywhere except in the
park of the ancient Bagoas,6 near Babylon. In
Cyprus’ there is a peculiar kind of palm which does
not ripen its fruit, though, when it is unripe, it is
very sweet and luscious, and this lusciousness is of a
peculiar kind. Some palms again ὃ differ not merely
gloss on πῆχυν, 6.6. εἷς πῆχυς δύο πόδες (Salm.) ; om. G3 ἐνίοτε
καὶ ἐπὶ πόδα conj. W. § Plin. 13. 42.
6 Βαγῴου : Βάττου MSS. corr. by R. Const. from Plin. 13.
41. τοῦ παλαίου apparently distinguishes this Bagoas from
some more recent wearer of the name.
7 Plin. 13. 33. * Plin,) 13. 28.
139
go
THEOPHRASTUS
φέρουσι τοῖς καρποῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ δένδρῳ
κατά τε τὸ μῆκος καὶ τὴν ἄλλην μορφήν" οὐ γὰρ
μεγάλοι καὶ μακροὶ ἀλλὰ βραχεῖς, ἔτι δὲ καρπι-
μώτεροι τῶν ἄλλων καὶ καρποφοροῦντες εὐθὺς
τριετεῖς' πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ οὗτοι “περὶ Κύπρον. εἰσὶ
δὲ καὶ περὶ Συρίαν. καὶ περὶ Αἴγυπτον φοίνικες
οἱ φέρουσι τετραετεῖς καὶ πενταετεῖς ἀνδρομήκεις
ὄντες.
Ἕτερον δ᾽ ἔτι γένος ἐν ᾿ Κύπρῳ, ὃ ὃ καὶ τὸ φύλλον
πλατύτερον ἔχει καὶ τὸν καρπὸν μείξω πολλῷ
καὶ ἰδιόμορφον' μεγέθει μὲν ἡλίκος poa τῷ σχή-
ματι δὲ προμήκης, οὐκ εὔχυλος δὲ ὥσπερ ἄλλοι
ἀλλ᾽ ὅμοιος ταῖς poats, ὥστε μὴ καταδέχεσθαι
ἀλλὰ διαμασησαμένους ἐκβάλλειν. γένη μὲν οὖν,
ὥσπερ εἴρηται, πολλά. θησαυρίξεσθαι δὲ μόνους
δύνασθαί φασι τῶν ἐν Συρίᾳ τοὺς ἐν τῷ αὐλῶνι,
τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ Κύπρῳ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς
ἄλλοις χλωροὺς ἀναλίσκεσθαι.
Ἔστι δὲ ὁ φοῖνιξ ὡς μὲν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν μονο-
στέλεχες καὶ povopues: ov μὴν ἀλλὰ γίνονταί
τινες καὶ διφυεῖς, ὥσπερ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καθάπερ
δικρόαν ἐ ἔχοντες" τὸ δ᾽ ἀνάστημα τοῦ στελέχους
ἀφ᾽ οὗ ἡ σχίσις καὶ πεντάπηχυ' πρὸς ἄλληλα δέ
πως ἰσάξοντα. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν Κρήτῃ
πλείους εἶναι τοὺς διφυεῖς, ἐ ἐνίους δὲ καὶ τριφυεῖς"
ἐν δὲ τῇ Λαπαίᾳ τινὰ καὶ πεντακέφαλον' οὐκ
ἄλογον γοῦν ἐν ταῖς εὐτροφωτέραις χώραις πλείω
γίνεσθαι τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ τὸ ὅλον δὲ τὰ εἴδη πλείω
καὶ τὰς διαφοράς.
1 ὅμοιος conj. Bod.; ὁμοίως UMVAId. 4 of. §5.
5. Plin. 13. 38; cf. 4. 2. 7, where the name (κουκιόφορον) of
this tree is given.
140
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, lI. νι. 7-9
in their fruits but in the character of the tree itself
as to stature and general shape; for instead of being
large and tall they are low growing; but these are
more fruitful than the others, and they begin to bear
as soon as they are three years old; this kind too is
common in Cyprus. Again in Syria and Egypt
there are palms which bear when they are four or
five years old, at which age they are the height of
a man.
There is yet another kind in Cyprus, which has
broader leaves and a much larger fruit of peculiar
shape; in size it is as large as a pomegranate, in
shape it is long ; it is not however juicy like others,
but like! a pomegranate, so that men do ποῖ
swallow it, but chew it and then spit it out. Thus,
as has been said, there are many kinds. The only
dates that will keep, they say, are those which grow
in the Valley? of Syria, while those that grow in
Egypt Cyprus and elsewhere are used when fresh.
The palm, speaking generally, has a single and
simple stem; however there are some with two
stems, as in Egypt,? which make a fork, as it were;
the length of the stem up to the point where it
divides is as much as five cubits, and the two
branches of the fork are about equal in length. They
say that the palms in Crete more often than not
have this double stem, and that some of them have
three stems; and that in Lapaia one with five heads
has been known. It is after all not surprising 4
that in more fertile soils such instances should be
commoner, and in general that more kinds and more
variation should be found under such conditions.
4 οὐκ ἄλογον γοῦν conj. ὟΝ. (οὐκ ἄλογον δ᾽ Sch.) ; οὐ καλῶς
γοῦν Ald.MU (marked doubtful).
141
10
il
THEOPHRASTUS
/ ,
"Addo δέ τι γένος ἐστὶν 6 φασι γίνεσθαι
“ \ \ > ’, ἃ na Iw
πλεῖστον περὶ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν, ὃ καλοῦσι κοϊκας'
Φ Ν ΄ ? ἈΝ ἈΝ 7 ”
οὗτοι δὲ θαμνώδεις, οὐχὶ Ev TO στέλεχος ἔχοντες
/ / / Ν
ἀλλὰ πλείω καὶ ἐνίοτε συνηρτημένα μέχρι τινὸς
>? κά \ “ἢ > \ \ ᾽ ’ “
εἰς ἕν, τὰς δὲ ῥάβδους οὐ μακρὰς μὲν ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον
’ >’ \ ’ὔ >’ \ \ fal » \
πηχυαίας, ἀλλὰ λείας, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄκρων τὴν
’ BA \ ᾿ς Ν / Mi ὌΠ 8.
κόμην. ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ τὸ φύλλον πλατὺ καὶ ὧσ-
a ,
περ ἐκ δυοῖν συγκείμενον ἐλαχίστοιν. καλοὶ δὲ
\ ay / \ \ X\ \ Qn ,
καὶ τῇ ὄψει φαίνονται Tov δὲ καρπὸν καὶ τῷ σχη-
ἴω Lal Lal »
ματι καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῷ χυλῷ διάφορον ἔχουσι"
\ /
στρογγυλώτερον yap Kal μείζω καὶ εὐστομώτερον
ἧττον δὲ γλυκύν. πεπαίνουσι δὲ ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσιν
“ ,’ \
ὥστ᾽ ἀεὶ καρπὸν ἔχειν, ἐπικαταλαμβάνοντος
ἴω \ lal nm
τοῦ νέου τὸν ἔνον" ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ ἄρτους ἐξ αὐτῶν'
περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων ἐπισκεπτέον.
Οἱ δὲ χαμαιρριφεῖς καλούμενοι τῶν φοινίκων
ἕτερόν τι γένος ἐστὶν ὥσπερ ὁμώνυμον" καὶ γὰρ
ἐξαιρεθέντος τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου ζῶσι καὶ κοπέντες
al a /
ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν παραβλαστάνουσι. διαφέρουσι
\ \ n ὃν ~ - / \ \
δὲ καὶ τῷ καρπῷ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις: πλατὺ yap
x Ν ?
καὶ μαλακὸν ἔχουσι TO φύλλον, δι’ ὃ καὶ πλέ-
An /
κουσιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τάς τε σπυρίδας καὶ TOUS
/ Χ \ ae lal Vs V4 \
φορμούς: πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ γίνονται καὶ
” a 9. Sy / rn \ ° > \
ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐν Σικελίᾳ. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ
πλεῖον εἴρηται τῆς ὑποθέσεως.
1 Phin, 137,47,
2 κόϊκας conj. Salm. ef. 1. 10. 5, and the probable reading
in Plin. 7.6;
3 συνηρτημένα μέχρι τινὸς εἰς ἕν Conj. W.; συνηρτημένας μὲν
142
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. vi. 10-11
1There is another kind which is said to be
abundant in Ethiopia, called the doum-palm?; this
is a shrubby tree, not having a single stem but
several, which sometimes are joined together up to
a certain point®; and the leaf-stalks are not long,‘
only the length of a cubit, but they are plain,> and
the leafage is borne only at the tip. The leaf is
broad and, as it were, made up of at least® two
leaflets. This tree is fair to look upon, and its fruit
in shape size and flavour differs from the date,
being rounder larger and pleasanter to the taste,
though not so luscious. It ripens in three years, so
that there is always fruit on the tree, as the new
fruit overtakes that of last year. And they make
bread out of it. These reports then call for
enquiry.
7 The dwarf-palm, as it is called, is a distinct kind,
having nothing but its name ὃ in common with other
palms. For if the head is removed, it survives,
and, if it is cut down, it shoots again from the
roots. It differs too in the fruit and leaves; for
the leaf is broad and flexible, and so they weave
their baskets and mats out of it. It is common in
Crete and still more so in Sicily.® However in
these matters we have said more than our purpose
required.
Ε] .
εἰς ἕν Ὁ; συνηρτημένα μέχρι τινός εἰσι Ald.; συνηρτημένας μὲν
μέχρι τινὸς εἶεν MV.
4 μὲν ins. W. after Sch. (omitted above).
5 7.e. without leaflets, except at the tip.
8 ἐλαχίστοιν Bas. ; ἐλαχίστων U. cf. Arist. Hih. N. 6. 3. 3,
ἐν ἐλαχίστοις δυσίν.
7 Plin. 18. 99. 8. Yor ὁμώνυμον cf. 9. 10. 1 π.
9.Α dwarf palm is now abundant at Selinunte: ef. Verg.
Aen. 3. 705, palmosa Selinus.
143
THEOPHRASTUS
2. Ἔν δὲ ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων φυτείαις ἀνάπαλιν
,ὔ \ lal Ὁ
τίθενται τὰ φυτευτήρια, καθάπερ τῶν κλημάτων.
e \ > > \ / \ σ΄ \ ’ \
οἱ μὲν οὖν οὐθὲν διαφέρειν φασὶν ἥκιστα δὲ ἐπὶ
ia) > 4 » \ ed 4 \
TOV ἀμπέλων: ἔνιοι δὲ poav δασύνεσθαι Kai
/ “ \ / vy Ἢ ρ »
σκιάζειν μᾶλλον τὸν καρπόν" ἔτι δὲ ἧττον ἀπο-
/ \ ’ / \ “ ,
βάλλειν τοὺς κυτίνους. συμβαίνειν δὲ τοῦτο φασι
\ > \ “ a > \ > / » /
καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς συκῆς" οὐ yap ἀποβάλλειν ἀνάπαλιν
φυτευθεῖσαν, ἔτι δ᾽ εὐβατωτέραν γίνεσθαι: οὐκ
᾿] ’
ἀποβάλλειν δὲ οὐδ᾽ ἐάν τις ἀποκλάσῃ φυομένης
εὐθὺς τὸ ἄκρον.
΄-“3λ A ,
Αἱ μὲν οὖν φυτεῖαι καὶ γενέσεις ὃν τρόπον
ἔχουσι σχεδὸν ὡς τύπῳ περιλαβεῖν εἴρηνται.
an / na ’
VII. Περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐργασίας καὶ τῆς θεραπείας
τὰ μέν ἐστι κοινὰ τὰ δὲ ἴδια καθ᾽ ἕκαστον. κοινὰ
μὲν ἥ τε σκαπάνη καὶ ἡ ὑδρεία καὶ ἡ κόπρωσις,
Μ \ ς Zz \ > Ἢ a BA
ἔτι δὲ ἡ διακάθαρσις καὶ ἀφαίρεσις TOV αὔων.
/ \ n a \ a \ Ν
διαφέρουσι δὲ τῷ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον. τὰ μὲν
/ Ν / \ }] > e / ? ε
φίλυδρα καὶ φιλόκοπρα τὰ δ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως, οἷον ἡ
΄ “ > , ION ,
κυπάριττος, ἥπερ οὐ φιλόκοπρον οὐδὲ φίλυδρον,
> \ Y 9 / 7ὔ 7 7, .
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπόλλυσθαί φασιν ἐάν γε νέαν οὖσαν
ἐφυδρεύωσι πολλῷ. ῥόα δὲ καὶ ἄμπελος φίλυδρα.
n \ > 4 \ id / \ \
συκῆ δὲ εὐβλαστοτέρα μὲν ὑδρενομένη τὸν δὲ
ye an fal
καρπὸν ἴσχει χείρω πλὴν τῆς Λακωνικῆς" αὕτη δὲ
φίλυδρος.
1 ἀνάπαλιν conj. Sch.; τἀνάπαλιν Ald. cf. C.P. 2. 9. 4;
Geop. 10. 45; Plin. 17. 84. 2 οὖν ins. H.
3 δασύνεσθαι: see LS. reff. 8.v. δασύς.
4 6f. CPF 209.3.
5 evBatwrépay (i.e. ‘more manageable’). The reference is
to a method of keeping the tree dwarf (Bod.). Plin. /.c. has
144
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. r2-vn. 1
Further notes on the propagation of trees.
To return to the other trees :—in propagating them
they set the cuttings upside down,! as with vine-shoots.
Some however? say that that makes no difference,
and least of all in propagating the vine ; while others
contend that the pomegranate thus propagated has
a bushier growth? and shades the fruit better, and
also that it is then 4 less apt to shed the flower. This
also occurs, they say, with the fig; when it is set
upside down, it does not shed its fruit, and it makes
a more accessible ὃ tree ; and it does not shed its fruit,
even if one breaks off the top ὅ as it begins to grow.
Thus we have given a general sketch of what
we find about methods of propagation, and of the
ways in which these trees are reproduced.
Of the cultivation of trees.
VII. Τ Asto cultivation and tendance some require-
ments apply equally to all trees, some are peculiar to
one. Those which apply equally to all are spade-
work watering and manuring, and moreover pruning
and removal of dead wood. But different trees differ
in the degree. Some love moisture and manure,
some not so much, as the cypress,’ which? is fond
neither of manure nor of water, but actually dies,
they say, if it is overwatered when young. But the
pomegranate and vine are water-loving. The fig
grows more vigorously if it is watered, but then its
fruit is inferior, except in the case of the Laconian
variety, which is water-loving.!
scansilem (so also G), which seems to be a rendering of εὐβατ.
εὐβατοτέραν U.
8 τὸ ἄκρον conj. R. Const. after G ; τὸν καρπὸν UMVP, Ald.
7 Plin. 17. 246. BMP lime 17.24 7.
9 ἥπερ conj. W. from G; ὥσπερ Ald. το C22 i316.) Ὁ:
145
2
THEOPHRASTUS
᾿Διακαθαίρεσθαι δὲ πάντα ἕητεῖ: βελτίω γὰρ
τῶν αὔων ἀφαιρουμένων ὥσπερ ἀλλοτρίων, ἃ και
τὰς αὐξήσεις καὶ τὰς τροφὰς ἐμποδίζει. du 0
Kal... ὅταν ἢ γεράνδρυον | ὅλως κόπτουσιν" ἡ γὰρ
βλάστησις νέα γίνεται τοῦ δένδρου. πλείστης δὲ
διακαθάρσεώς φησιν. ᾿Ανδροτίων δεῖσθαι μύρρινον
καὶ ἐλάαν" ὅσῳ γὰρ ἂν ἐλάττω καταλίπῃς, ἄμεινον
βλαστήσει καὶ τὸν καρπὸν οἴσει πλείω" “πλὴν
ἀμπέλου δῆλον ὅτι: ταύτῃ γὰρ ἀναγκαιότερον
καὶ πρὸς βλάστησιν καὶ πρὸς εὐκαρπίαν. ἁπλῶς
δὲ καὶ ταύτην καὶ τὴν ἄλλην θεραπείαν πρὸς τὴν
ἰδίαν φύσιν ἑκάστῳ ποιητέον.
Δεῖσθαι δέ φησιν ᾿Ανδροτίων καὶ κόπρου
δριμυτάτης καὶ πλείστης ὑδρείας, ὥ ὥσπερ καὶ τῆς
ιακαθάρσεως, ἔλάαν καὶ μύρρινον καὶ ῥόαν' οὐ
γὰρ ἔχειν μήτραν οὐδὲ νόσημα κατὰ γῆς οὐδέν"
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὰν παλαιὸν ἢ τὸ δένδρον, ἀποτέμνειν
δεῖν τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας ἔπειτα τὸ στέλεχος θερα-
πεύειν ὡσπερὰν ἐξ ἀρχῆς φυτευθέν' οὕτω δε
φασι πολυχρονιώτερα καὶ ἰσχυρότατα μύρρινον
εἶναι καὶ ἐλάαν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπισκέψαιτ᾽
ἄν τις, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντα ἀλλὰ περί γε τῆς
μήτρας.
"H δὲ κόπρος οὔτε πᾶσιν ὁμοίως οὔθ᾽ ἡ αὐτὴ
πᾶσιν ἁρμόττει" τὰ μὲν γὰρ δριμείας δεῖται τὰ
δ᾽ ἧττον τὰ δὲ παντελῶς κούφης. “δριμυτάτη δὲ
ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου' καθάπερ καὶ Χαρτόδρας
ἀρίστην μὲν ταύτην εἶναί φησι, δευτέραν δὲ τὴν
ὑείαν, τρίτην δὲ αἰγός, τετάρτην δὲ προβάτου,
1 Plin. 17. 248. 3 Name of tree missing. Sch.
2 of. C.P. Ὁ. 10..4, 4 ταύτῃ conj. W.; ταύτης Ald.
146
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vir. 2-4
1 All trees require pruning ; for they are improved
by removal of the dead wood, which is, as it were, a
foreign body, and prevents growth and nourishment.
Wherefore when the (tree)? becomes old, they cut
off all its boughs: for then the tree breaks afresh.
Androtion ® says that the myrtle and olive need more
pruning than any other trees; for the smaller you
leave them, the better they will grow, and they will
bear better fruit. But the vine of course needs
pruning even more ; for it is in the case of this tree *
more necessary for promoting both growth and
fruitfulness. However, speaking generally, both
this and other kinds of tendance must be suited to
the particular natural character in each case.
Androtion further says that the olive the myrtle
and the pomegranate require the most pungent
manure and the heaviest watering, as well as the
most thorough pruning, for that then they do not
get ‘softwood’ ® nor any disease underground ; but
when the tree is old, he adds, one should cut off the
boughs, and then attend to the stem as though it
were a tree just planted. Thus® treated they say
that the myrtle and olive are longer lived and
very robust. These statements might be a subject
for further enquiry, or, if not all of them, at least what
is stated of the ‘softwood.’
Manure does not suit all alike, nor is the same
manure equally good for all. Some need it pungent,
some less so, some need it quite light. The most
pungent is human dung: thus Chartodras’ says
that this is the best, pig-manure being second to it,
goat-manure third, fourth that of sheep, fifth that of
5 i.e. effete sap-wood. δ᾽ οὕτω conj. W.; οἱ Ald.
7 Name perhaps corrupt.
147
THEOPHRASTUS
πέμπτην δὲ Boos, ἕκτην δὲ THY λοφούρων. ἡ δὲ
συρματῖτις ἄλλη καὶ ἄλλως: ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀσθενε-
στέρα ταύτης ἡ δὲ κρείττων.
Τὴν δὲ σκαπάνην πᾶσιν οἴονται συμφέρειν,
ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν ὄσκαλσιν τοῖς ἐλάττοσιν" εὐτρα-
φέστερα γὰρ γίνεσθαι. τρέφειν δὲ δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ κονι-
ορτὸς ἔνια καὶ θάλλειν ποιεῖν, οἷον τὸν βότρυν, Sv
ὃ καὶ ὑποκονίουσι πολλάκις" οἱ δὲ καὶ τὰς συκᾶς
ὑποσκάπτουσιν ἔνθα τούτου δεῖ. Μεγαροῖ δὲ
καὶ τοὺς σικύους καὶ τὰς κολοκύντας, ὅταν οἱ
ἐτησίαι πνεύσωσι, σκάλλοντες κονιορτοῦσι καὶ
οὕτω γλυκυτέρους καὶ ἁπαλωτέρους ποιοῦσιν
οὐχ ὑδρεύοντες. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ὁμολογούμενον.
τὴν δ᾽ ἄμπελον οὔ φασί τινες δεῖν [ἢ] ὑποκονίειν
οὐδ᾽ ὅλως ἅπτεσθαι περκάζοντος τοῦ βότρυος,
GAN εἴπερ ὅταν ἀπομελανθῇ. οἱ δὲ τὸ ὅλον μηδὲ
τότε πλὴν ὅσον ὑποτῖλαι τὴν βοτάνην' ὑπὲρ μὲν
οὖν τούτων ἀμφισβητοῦσιν.
> \ / ΄ > ᾽ >? ’ὔ
Ἐὰν δέ τι μὴ φέρῃ KapT ov ἀλλ εἰς βλάστησιν
τρέπηται, σχίζουσι τοῦ στελέχους τὸ κατὰ γῆν
καὶ λίθον ἐντιθέασιν ὅπως ἂν ῥαγῇ, καί φασι
φέρειν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐάν τις τῶν ῥιζῶν τινας
περιτέμῃ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τῶν ἀμπέλων ὅταν τραγῶσι
τοῦτο ποιοῦσι τὰς ἐπιπολῆς. τῶν δὲ συκῶν
πρὸς τῷ TEPUTEMVELY Kal τέφραν περιπάττουσι
καὶ κατασχάζουσι τὰ στελέχη καὶ haat φέρειν
μᾶλλον. ἀμυγδαλῇ δὲ καὶ πάτταλον ἐγκόψαντες
1 Lit. ‘ bushy tails,’ ἡ.6. horses asses mules.
CLEP 18s: 3 δεῖ ins. H ; so apparently G read.
4 δεῖν ὑποκονίειν οὐδ᾽ ὅλως conj. W. (so Sch., but keeping
[ἢ] after δεῖν) ; δεῖν ἢ ὑποκινιεῖν οὐδ᾽ ὅλως UMV; δεῖν ἢ ὑποκο-
νιεῖν ἢ ὅλως Ald. 5 Plin. 17. 253 and 254.
148
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. vir. 4-6
oxen, and sixth that of beasts of burden.! Litter
manure is of different kinds and is applied in various
ways: some kinds are weaker, some stronger.
Spade-work is held to be beneficial to all trees,
and also hoeing for the smaller ones, as they then
become more vigorous. Even dust? is thought to
fertilise some things and make them flourish, for
instance the grape; wherefore they often put dust to
the roots of the vine. Some also dig in dust about
the figs in places where it is deficient.* In Megara,
when the etesian winds are past, they cover the
cucumber and gourd plants with dust by raking, and
so make the fruits sweeter and tenderer by not
watering. On this point there is general agreement.
But some say that dust should not be put to the vine,‘
and that it should not be meddled with at all when
the grape is turning, or, if at all, only when it has
turned black. Some again say that even then nothing
should be done except to pluck up the weeds. So
on this point there is a difference of opinion.
5 If a tree does not bear fruit but inclines to a
leafy growth, they split that part of the stem which
is underground and insert a stone corresponding © to
the crack thus made, and then, they say, it will bear.
The same result follows, if one cuts off some of the
roots, and accordingly they thus treat the surface
roots of the vine when it runs to leaf. In the case
of figs, in addition to root-pruning,’ they also sprinkle
ashes about the tree, and make gashes in the stems,
and then, they say, it bears better. ὃ Into the almond
tree they drive an iron peg, and, having thus made
6 ὅπως ἂν ῥαγῇ Ald.: so G; ? ὅπου ; ὅπως aveayn conj. ὟΝ,
cf. Geop. 5. 35. Ὁ Phin. tc.
ΞΟ 11 Ὁ Ne Viet lO; 214. 1 Eun. 7.209:
149
THEOPHRASTUS
σιδηροῦν ὅταν τετράνωσιν ἄλλον ἀντεμβάλλουσι
δρύϊνον καὶ τῇ γῇ κρύπτουσιν: ὃ καὶ καλοῦσί
τινες κολάζειν ὡς ὑβρίζον τὸ δένδρον.
Ταὐτὸν δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀπίου καὶ ἐπ᾽
ἄλλων τινὲς ποιοῦσιν. ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ δὲ καὶ
εὐθύνειν καλοῦσι τὴν ὄαν' πολὺ γὰρ τὸ δένδρον
τοῦτο παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐστι. καί φασιν, ὅταν πάθῃ
τοῦτο, τὰς μὲν μὴ φερούσας φέρειν τὰς δὲ μὴ
πεττούσας ἐκπέττειν καλῶς. ἀμυγδαλῆν δὲ καὶ
ἐκ πικρᾶς γίγνεσθαι γλυκεῖαν, ἐάν τις περιορύξας
τὸ στέλεχος καὶ τιτράνας ὅσον τε παλαιστιαῖον
τὸ πανταχόθεν ἀπορρέον δάκρυον ἐπὶ ταὐτὸ ἐᾷ
καταρρεῖν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἂν εἴη πρός τε τὸ φέρειν
ἅμα καὶ πρὸς τὸ εὐκαρτπεῖν.
VIII. ᾿Αποβάλλει δὲ πρὸ τοῦ πέψαι τὸν καρ-
πὸν ἀμυγδαλῆ μηλέα ῥόα ἄπιος καὶ μάλιστα δὴ
πάντων συκῆ καὶ φοῖνιξ, πρὸς ἃ καὶ τὰς βοηθείας
ζητοῦσι: ὅθεν καὶ ὁ ἐρινασμός: ἐκ γὰρ τῶν
ἐκεῖ κρεμαννυμένων ἐρινῶν ψῆνες ἐκδυόμενοι κατε-
σθίουσι καὶ πιαίνουσι τὰς κορυφάς. διαφέρουσι
δὲ καὶ αἱ χῶραι πρὸς τὰς ἀποβολάς: περὶ γὰρ
᾿Ιταλίαν οὔ φασιν ἀποβάλλειν, δι’ ὃ οὐδ᾽ ἐρι-
1 The operation being performed at the base of the tree.
Co) 2 ἐκπέττειν conj. R. Const.; εἰσπέττειν UMAId.
3 Plin. 17. 252.
4 τὸ παντάχοθεν conj. W.; παντάχοθεν τὸ MSS.; so ap-
parently G. ef. C.P. 2. 14. 4.
5 πέψαι conj. Sch.; πέμψαι Ald.
6 ἐκεῖ κρεμαννυμένων ἐρινῶν I conj.; ἐκεῖ κρεμαννυμένων Ald. :
ἐπικρεμαμένων ἐρινῶν conj. W.: but the present partic. is used
CP. θυ δι
150
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vir. 6-vor. 1
a hole, insert in its place a peg of oak-wood and
bury it! in the earth, and some call this ‘ punishing’
the tree, since its luxuriance is thus chastened.
Some do the same with the pear and with other
trees. In Arcadia they have a similar process which is
called ‘correcting’ the sorb (for that tree is com-
mon in that country). And they say that under
this treatment those trees that would not bear do
so, and those that would not ripen their fruit now
ripen? them well. ?It is also said that the almond
becomes sweet, instead of bitter, if one digs round
the stem and, having bored a hole about a palms-
breadth, allows the gum which exudes from all
sides 4 to flow down into it and collect. The object
of this would be alike to make the tree bear and to
improve the fruit.
Of remcdies for the shedding of the fruit: caprification.
VIII. Trees which are apt to shed their fruit before
ripening® it are almond apple pomegranate pear
and, above all, fig and date-palm; and men try to
find the suitable remedies for this. This is the
reason for the process called ‘ caprification’ ; gali-
insects come out of the wild figs which are hanging
there,® eat the tops of the cultivated figs and so
make them swell.’ The shedding of the fruit differs
according to the soil: in Italy*® they say that it
does not occur, and so they do not use caprification,®
7 πιαίνουσι MVAI.; διείρουσι conj.W. ? πεπαίνουσι, ‘ripen,’
which is the word used in the parallel pass. C. P. 2. 9. 6, the
object of the process being to cause the figs to dry.
8 Plin. 15. 81. ‘Italy’ means South Italy. of. 4. 5. 5 and
0.7. 0..8:.1:
® ἐρινάζουσιν conj. Bod.; ἐρινοῦσιν Ald. Η,
ISI
THEOPHRASTUS
νάζουσιν' οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς καταβορείοις Kal λεπτο-
γείοις, οἷον ἐπὶ Φαλύκῳ τῆς Μεγαρίδος: οὐδὲ τῆς
Κορινθίας ἔν τισι τόποις. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ
τῶν πνευμάτων κατάστασις" βορείοις γὰρ μᾶλλον
ἢ νοτίοις ἀποβάλλουσι, κἂν ᾿Ψυχρότερα καὶ
πλείω γένηται μᾶλλον. ἔτι δ᾽ αὐτῶν τῶν δένδρων
ἡ φύσις" τὰ πρώϊα γὰρ ἀποβάλλει, τὰ δ᾽ ὄψια
οὐκ ἐκβάλλει, καθάπερ ἡ Λακωνικὴ καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι.
be’ ὃ Kal οὐκ ἐρινάξουσι ταύτας. ταῦτα μὲν
οὖν ἔν τε τοῖς τόποις καὶ τοῖς γένεσι καὶ τῇ
καταστάσει τοῦ ἀέρος ἔχει τὰς διαφοράς.
2 {1 Oude Wives ἐκδύονται μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἐρινεοῦ,
καθάπερ εἴρηται" γίνονται δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν κεγχραμίδων.
σημεῖον δὲ λέγουσιν, ὅτι ἐπειδὰν ἐκδύωσιν οὐκ
ἔνεισι κεγχραμίδες. ἐκδύονται δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ
ἐγκαταλιπόντες ἢ πόδα ἢ πτερόν. γένος δέ τι
καὶ ἕτερόν ἐστι τῶν ψηνῶν, ὃ καλοῦσι κεντρίνας"
οὗτοι δ᾽ ἀργοὶ καθάπερ κηφῆνες" καὶ ποὺς εἰσδυο-
μένους τῶν ἑτέρων κτείνουσιν αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐναπο-
θνήσκουσιν. ἐπαινοῦσι δὲ μάλιστα τῶν ἐρινῶν
τὰ μέλανα τὰ ἐκ τῶν πετρωδῶν χωρίων" πολλὰς
3 yap ἔχει ταῦτα κεγχραμίδας. γιγνώσκεται δὲ
τὸ ἐρινασμένον τῷ ἐρυθρὸν εἶναι καὶ ποικίλον καὶ
ἰσχυρόν' τὸ δ᾽ ἀνερίναστον λευκὸν καὶ ἀσθενές"
προστιθέασι δὲ τοῖς δεομένοις ὅταν ὕσῃ. ὅπου
δὲ πλεῖστος κονιορτός, ἐνταῦθα πλεῖστα καὶ
en S25 ΤΊΣ
2 ψυχρότερα καὶ πλείω conj. Sch.; τεχνοτέρα καὶ πλείων MV
Ald. ; τεχρότερα καὶ πλείω U.
3 πρωΐα conj. Sch. from G; πρῶτα Ald. H.
4 Plin. 17. 255 and 256.
152
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vin. 1-3
nor is it practised in places which face north nor in
those with light soils, as at Phalykos! in the
Megarid, nor in certain parts of the district of
Corinth. Also conditicns as to wind make a differ-
ence; the fruit is shed more with northerly than
with southerly winds, and this also happens more
if the winds are cold and frequent.2, Moreover the
character of the tree itself makes a difference; for
some kinds, such as the Laconian and other such
kinds, shed their early? figs but not the later
ones. Wherefore caprification is not practised with
these. Such are the changes to which the fig
is subject in respect of locality kind and climatic
conditions.
4 Now the gall-insects come, as has been said, out
of the wild fig, and they are engendered from the
seeds. The proof given of this is that, when they
come out, there are no seeds left in the fruit; and
most of them in coming out leave a leg or a wing
behind. There is another kind of gall-insect which is
called kentrines; these insects are sluggish, like drones,
they kill those of the other kind who are entering
the figs, and they themselves die in the fruit. The
black kind of wild fig which grows in rocky places
is most commended for caprification, as these figs
contain numerous seeds.6 A fig which has been
subject to caprification is known by being red and
parti-coloured and stout, while one which has not
been so treated is pale and sickly. The treatment
is applied to the trees which need it, after rain.
The wild figs are most plentiful and most potent
5 ¢.e. and so should produce more gall-insects: in C.P.
2. 9. 6 it is implied that the insect is produced by putrefac-
tion of the seeds of the wild fig.
153
THEOPHRASTUS
? Ud A > Xi / \ Ne os 4
ἰσχυρότατα Ta ἐρινὰ γίνεται. φασὶ δὲ ἐρινάζειν
Ν φ / a \ 3 ’ὔ
καὶ τὸ πόλιον, ὁπόταν αὐτῷ καρπὸς ἡ πολύς, καὶ
n 7 / \
TOUS τῆς πτελέας κωρύκους" ἐγγίνεται yap Kal ἐν
[ὰ / ᾽ an ¢ a lal
τούτοις θηρίδι᾽ ἄττα. κνῖπες ὅταν ἐν ταῖς συκαῖς
΄ \ a , \ 4
γίνωνται κατεσθίουσι τοὺς Whvas. ἄκος δὲ τούτου
’ a \
φασὶν εἶναι τοὺς καρκίνους προσπερονᾷν" πρὸς
/ \ a
yap τούτους τρέπεσθαι τοὺς κνῖπας. ἀλλὰ
a \ “- 2
yap δὴ ταῖς μὲν συκαῖς αὗται βοήθειαι.
Nw \ / alee J ἣν ἴω , / Ν \
Tots δὲ φοίνιξιν αἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρρένων πρὸς τοὺς
id lal
θήλεις: οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ἐπιμένειν ποιοῦντες
¢ a , an « ,
καὶ ἐκπέττειν, ὃ καλοῦσί τινες ἐκ τῆς ὁμοιότητος
3 / / Xx / Ν / “
ὀλυνθάζειν. γίνεται δὲ τόνδε τὸν τρόπον. ὅταν
lel / \ ΄ ,
ἀνθῇ τὸ ἄρρεν, ἀποτέμνουσι τὴν σπάθην ἐφ
er 4 a
ἧς τὸ ἄνθος εὐθὺς ὥσπερ ἔχει, TOV TE χνοῦν Kal
\ \ /
τὸ ἄνθος καὶ τὸν κονιορτὸν κατασείουσι κατὰ
an n a ’ a r
τοῦ καρποῦ τῆς θηλείας" Kav τοῦτο πάθη, διατηρεῖ
/ > a \ “
καὶ οὐκ ἀποβάλλει. φαίνεται δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ
fal 7, , an
ἄρρενος τοῖς θήλεσι βοήθεια γίνεσθαι: θῆλυ yap
fa) \ / ’ ᾽ e \ φ val
καλοῦσι TO καρποφόρον" ἀλλ᾽ ἡ μὲν οἷον μίξις"
« Ν DF ὦ /
ἡ δὲ KAT ἄλλον τρόπον.
1 ὁπότ᾽ ἂν... πολύς conj. W. from G, cum coptiose fructi-
ficat; ὁπόταν αἰγίπυρος ἢ πολύς MSS. U adds καὶ before
ὁπόταν.
2 κωρύκους I conj. In 3. 14. 1. the elm is said to bear
κωρυκίδες which contain gnat-like creatures; these growths
are called κωρυκώδη τινα κοῖλα 3. 15. 4; and in 3. 7. 3. the
154
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. vin. 3-4
where there is most dust. And they say that
hulwort also, when it fruits freely,! and the “ gall-
bags’ 2 of the elm are used for caprification. For
certain little creatures are engendered in these also.
When the nips is found in figs, it eats the gall-insects.
It is to prevent this, it is said, that they nail up
the crabs; forthe knzps then turns its attention to
these. Such are the ways of assisting the fig-
trees.
With dates it is helpful to bring the male to the
female; for it is the male which causes the fruit to
persist and ripen, and this process some call, by
analogy, ‘the use of the wild fruit.’3 | The process
is thus performed : when the male palm is in flower,
they at once cut off the spathe on which the flower
is, just as it is, and shake the bloom with the flower
and the dust over the fruit of the female, and, if this
is done to it, it retains the fruit and does not shed
it. Inthe case both of the fig and of the date it
appears that the ‘ male’ renders aid to the ‘ female,’
—for the fruit-bearing tree is called ‘female’—
but while in the latter case there is a union of the
two sexes, in the former the result is brought about
somewhat differently.
same thing is referred to as τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτο, where τοῦτο
=‘ the well-known’; cf. also 9. 1. 2, where Sch. restores
κωρύκους ; cf. Pall. 4. 10. 28. κυπαίρους (3) U ; κυπέρους MV;
κύπεριν Ald.; κυττάρους conj. W.
3 ὀλυνθάζειν, from ὄλυνθος, a kind of wild fig, as ἐρινάζειν,
from ἐρινός, the wild fig used for caprification. cf. C.P.
3. 18:}-
155
beg ον "ἢ μερκονσμανῃ
“ἢ ἀβοοβα ahr Th
rere
ae ra
ne τ
petal ritdae! ‘ah
faldbenc els epee νὴ ΠΥ OF
ἀπ αοξοννθγ δυο πα αὐτο, ουσπὶι salindbsg plats agli
ih 56, nig Rm ar tte “ἐδ eal
wens
οἷν of. this HF grid Ἂ Yi oe Pi ry ‘eel Bs) Wo
‘og abe! ἐπα" pains Abeta She PETE Toe eS
«ἀπ arene! eesgvy Ht Chin ΗΔ ΒΕ ed = dog
Spam APS ak lien salen Sent One yeaa |
soak wheat 1d IBLE ath OR > Gore vorrei a
ihe < τον κῃ) μέν ἼΩΝ Hote αὐ ΔΝ
lt \4 fin Heol load ἿΣ tails. binge ie ‘as ie
a bith’. Alaa, aiid To ais) ss yore bs ὃ
δ Se Roan ‘bile να FP Ἂς ΟἿ
Src αὐδκι αν ἥδ᾽ ἐν enh ἡ ὐ ἢ ame
silanicdst φίλο ἐμ ρα Ηρ αὐ dae τὴ Gadd gpd
(clams, holies δου οιθα ai
Hild τὸ πολι κα Bia ited pumwed al ody μὲ αν
spel ti Huis. a Moers ae seamrie) orld οὐ δοχόν ἢ
ria ἈΒΗΘΑΘ διαϊνεααίθδ «|
οΥὐνον aneilw " ya iehcuenue = ie οἱ winter ‘ei Μὰ 1
ar ae. ye, ΜΟΥ. PN a ΟῚ eco aA ΓΙ ida τον
dai he heel AN ἐδ ϑϑι ὁ ety’ Was
sie τῆν Ἔν τὸ eh ene
get.
BOOK III
jj
Ι. "Emel δὲ περὶ τῶν ἡμέρων δένδρων εἴρηται,
γ΄ / ἴω / »
λεκτέον ὁμοίως καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀγρίων, εἴ TE τι
\ > = , " 7)
ταὐτὸν Kal ἕτερον ἔχουσι τοῖς ἡμέροις εἴ θ᾽ ὅλως
an /
ἴδιον τῆς φύσεως.
9 nr a ᾽
Al μὲν οὖν γενέσεις ἁπλαῖ τινες αὐτῶν εἰσι"
΄ \ A > \ / Ἃ > \ ee /
πάντα Yap ἢ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἢ ἀπὸ ῥίζης φύεται.
lal ᾽ ’ 6 ΕῚ ᾽ / Xo 3 ᾽
τοῦτο δ᾽ οὐχ ὡς οὐκ ἐνδεχόμενον καὶ ἄλλως, ἀλλ
Μ» ἊΝ Ν \ a / \ ΄
ἴσως διὰ τὸ μὴ πειρᾶσθαι μηδένα μηδὲ φυτεύειν'
7 ΄ > oN > / , 2 ’
ἐκφύοιτο δ᾽ ἂν εἰ λαμβάνοιεν τόπους ἐπιτηδείους
, “ ἴω
καὶ θεραπείαν τὴν ἁρμόττουσαν' ὥσπερ καὶ νῦν
/
Ta ἀλσώδη καὶ φίλυδρα, λέγω δ᾽ οἷον πλάτανον
/ / ’ ,
itéav λεύκην αἴγειρον πτελέαν: ἅπαντα yap
ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα φυτευόμενα βλαστάνει καὶ
τάχιστα καὶ κάλλιστα ἀπὸ τῶν παρασπάδων,
ef \ / ” » \ > / 7
ὥστε καὶ μεγάλας οὔσας ἤδη Kal ἰσοδένδρους av
a / 7 \
τις μεταθῇ διαμένειν: φυτεύεται δὲ τὰ πολλὰ
a \
αὐτῶν Kal καταπηγνύμενα, καθάπερ ἡ λεύκη καὶ
ἡ αἴγειρος.
r 4 \ 9 A a a \ A
Toutwy μὲν οὖν πρὸς τῇ σπερματικῇ καὶ TH
a n δ / / a
ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν καὶ αὕτη γένεσίς ἐστι; τῶν δὲ
1 ἐκφύοιτο conj. W.; ἐπιφύοιτο UMVAId.
158
BOOK, Ill
Or Witp TREES.
Of the ways in which wild trees originate.
I. Now that we have spoken of cultivated trees,
we must in like manner speak of wild ones, noting
in what respects they agree with or differ from
cultivated trees, and whether in any respects their
character is altogether peculiar to themselves.
Now the ways in which they come into being are
fairly simple ; they all grow either from seed or from
a root. But the reason of this is not that they
could not possibly grow in any other way, but merely
perhaps that no one even tries to plant them other-
wise; whereas they might grow! from slips, if they
were provided with a suitable position and received
the fitting kind of tendance, as may be said even
now of the trees of woodland and marsh, such as
plane willow abele black poplar and elm; all these
and other similar trees grow very quickly and well
when they are planted from pieces torn off, so that *
they survive, even if at the time of shifting they are
already tall and as big as trees. Most of these are
simply planted by being set firmly, for instance, the
abele and the black poplar.
Such is the way in which these originate as well
as from seed or from roots; the others grow only
2 ὥστε καὶ wey. conj. Sch.; καὶ ὥστε καὶ wey. UM; καὶ ὥστε
μεγ. PAId.
159
THEOPHRASTUS
ἄλλων ἐκεῖναι: πλὴν ὅσα “μόνον ἀπὸ σπέρματος
φύεται, καθάπερ ἐλάτη πεύκη πίτυς. ὅσα δὲ ἔ ἔχει
σπέρμα καὶ καρπόν, κἂν ἀπὸ ῥίζης γίνηται, καὶ
ἀπὸ τούτων" ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα ἄκαρπα εἶναι
γεννᾶν φασιν, οἷον πτελέαν itéav. σημεῖον δὲ
λέγουσιν οὐ μόνον ὅτι φύεται πολλὰ τῶν ῥιζῶν
ἀπηρτημένα καθ᾽ ods ἂν ἢ τόπους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ
συμβαίνοντα θεωροῦντες, οἷον ἐν Φενεῷ τῆς
᾿Αρκαδίας, ὡς ἐξερράγη τὸ συναθροισθὲν ὕδωρ ἐν
τῷ πεδίῳ φραχθέντων τῶν βερέθρων' ὅπου μὲν
ἐγγὺς ἦσαν ἰτέαι πεφυκυῖαι τοῦ καταποθέντος
τόπου, τῷ ὑστέρῳ ἔτει μετὰ τὴν ἀναξήρανσιν
ἐνταῦθα αὖθις ἀναφῦναί φασιν ἰτέαν' ὅπου δὲ
πτελέαι αὖθις πτελέας, καθάπερ καὶ ὅπου πεῦκαι
καὶ ἔλαται πεύκας καὶ ἐλάτας, ὥσπερ μιμουμένων
κἀκείνων.
᾿Αλλὰ τὴν ἐτέαν ταχὺ προκαταβάλλειν πρὸ
τοῦ τελείως ἁδρῦναι καὶ πέψαι τὸν καρπόν'
δι’ ὃ καὶ τὸν ποιητὴν οὐ κακῶς προσαγορεύειν
αὐτὴν ὠλεσίκαρπον.
Τῆς δὲ πτελέας κἀκεῖνο σημεῖον ὑπολαμβά.-
νουσιν' ὅταν yap ἀπὸ τῶν πνευμάτων εἰς τοὺς
ἐχομένους τόπους ὁ καρπὸς ἀπενεχθῇ, φύεσθαί
φασι. παραπλήσιον δὲ ἔοικεν εἶναι τὸ συμβαῖνον
ὃ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φρυγανικῶν καὶ ποιωδῶν τινών
ἐστιν; οὐκ ἐχόντων γὰρ σπέρμα φανερόν, ἀλλὰ
1 of. 5. 4 6.
2 *Katavothra’ (now called ‘the devil’s holes,’ see Lawson,
cited below) ; cf. Paus. 8. 14; Catull. 68. 109; Plut. de sera
numinis vindicta, 557 c: Plin. 31. 36; Frazer, Pausanias and
other Greek Sketches, pp. 315 foll. ; Lawson, Afodern Greek
Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion, p. 85.
160
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 2-3
in these two ways—while some of them, such as
silver-fir fir and Aleppo pine grow only from seed.
All those that have seed and fruit, even if they grow
from a root, will grow from seed too; for they say
that even those which, like elm and willow, appear
to have no fruit reproduce themselves. For proof
they give the fact that many such trees come up at a
distance from the roots of the original tree, what-
ever the position may be; and further, they have
observed a thing which occasionally happens ; for in-
stance, when at Pheneos! in Arcadia the water which
had collected in the plain since the underground
channels? were blocked burst forth, where there
were willows growing near the inundated region, the
next year after it had dried up they say that willows
grew again; and where there had been elms, elms "
grew, even as, where there had been firs and silver-
firs, these trees reappeared—as if the former trees
followed the example of the latter.
But the willow is said to shed its fruit early, before
it is completely matured and ripened; and so the
poet® not unfittingly calls it “the willow which loses
its fruit.”
That the elm also reproduces itself the following
is taken to be a proof: when the fruit is carried by
the winds to neighbouring spots, they say that young
trees grow from it. Something similar to this
appears to be what happens in the case of certain
under-shrubs and herbaceous plants; though they
have no visible seed, but some of them only a sort of
3 πτελέας αὖθις πτελέας Conj. St.; πτελέας ἀντὶ πελέας U;
πτελέας ἀντὶ πτελέας MV; πτελέας αὖθις πτελέας Ρ; πτελέα
αὖθις πτελέας Ald,
4 ὦ 6. by growing from seed, as conifers normally do.
5 Homer, Od. 10. 510; ef. Plin. 16. 110.
161
THEOPHRASTUS
τῶν μὲν οἷον χνοῦν τῶν δ᾽ ἄνθος, ὥσπερ TO θύμον,
ὅμως ἀπὸ τούτων βλαστάνουσιν. ἐπεὶ Pave
πλάτανος ἔχει φανερῶς καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων φύεται.
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐξ ἄλλων τε δῆλον κἀκεῖνο μέγιστον
σημεῖον" ὠφθη γὰρ ἤδη ποτὲ πεφυκυῖα πλάτανος
ἐν τρίποδι χαλκῷ.
Ταύτας τε δὴ τὰς γενέσεις ὑποληπτέον εἶναι
τῶν ἀγρίων καὶ ἔτι τὰς αὐτομάτους, ἃς καὶ οἱ
φυσιολόγοι λέγουσιν' ᾿Αναξαγόρας μὲν τὸν ἀέρα
πάντων φάσκων ἔχειν σπέρματα καὶ ταῦτα
συγκαταφερόμενα τῷ ὕδατι γεννᾶν τὰ φυτά'
Διογένης δὲ σηπομένου τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ μίξιν
τινὰ λαμβάνοντος πρὸς τὴν. γῆν" ᾿Κλείδημος δὲ
συνεστάναι μὲν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν τοῖς ζώοις, ὅσῳ
δὲ θολερωτέρων καὶ ψυχροτέρων τοσοῦτον ἀπέχειν
τοῦ ζῶα εἶναι. [λέγουσι δέ τινες καὶ ἄλλοι περὶ
τῆς γενέσεως.
᾿Αλλ αὕτη μὲν ἀπηρτημένη πώς ἐστι τῆς
αἰσθήσεως. ἄλλαι δὲ ,ὁμολογούμεναι καὶ ἐμφα-
νεῖς, οἷον ὅταν ἔφοδος γένηται ποταμοῦ παρεκβάν.
τος τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἢ καὶ ὅλως ἑτέρωθι ποιησαμένου,
καθάπερ ἃ Νέσος ἐν τῇ ᾿Αβδηρίτιδι πολλάκις
μεταβαίνει, καὶ ἅμα τῇ μεταβάσει τοσαύτην
ὕλην συγγεννᾷ τοῖς τόποις, ὥστε τῷ τρίτῳ ἔτει
συνηρεφεῖν. καὶ πάλιν ὅταν ἐπομβρίαι κατά-
σχωσι πλείω χρόνον" καὶ γὰρ ἐν ταύταις βλαστή-
σεις γίνονται φυτῶν. ἔοικε δὲ ἡ μὲν τῶν ποταμῶν
ἔφοδος ἐπάγειν σπέρματα καὶ καρπούς, καὶ τοὺς
ὀχετούς φασι τὰ τῶν ποιωδῶν' ἡ δ᾽ ἐπομβρία
τ idea, Lame 2
2. Sc. of Apollonia, the ‘Ionian ’ philosopher.
© cf. C.F, 1. 102 iid. θὲ. das, ἈΤΙΒΙν δίδουν 2. 9.
162
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 3-5
down, and others only a flower, such as thyme, young
plants nevertheless grow from these. As for the
plane, it obviously has seeds, and seedlings grow
from them. This is evident in various ways, and
here is a very strong proof—a plane-tree has before
now been seen which came up in a brass pot.
Such we must suppose are the ways in which wild
trees originate, apart from the spontaneous ways
of which natural philosophers tell. 1 Anaxagoras
says that the air contains the seeds of all things,
and that these, carried down by the rain, produce
the plants; while Diogenes? says that this happens
when water decomposes and mixes in some sort with
earth. 3Kleidemos maintains that plants are made
of the same elements as animals, but that they fall
short of being animals in proportion as their com-
position is less pure and as they are colder. * And
there are other philosophers also who speak of
spontaneous generation.
But this kind of generation is somehow beyond
the ken of our senses. There are other admitted
and observable kinds, as when a river in flood gets
over its banks or has altogether changed its course,
even as the Nesos in the district of Abdera often
alters its course, and in so doing causes such a
growth of forest in that region that by the third
year it casts a thick shade. The same result ensues
when heavy rains prevail for a long time; during
these too many plants shoot up. Now, as the
flooding of a river, it would appear, conveys seeds
and fruits of trees, and, as they say, irrigation channels
convey the® seeds of herbaceous plants, so heavy
4 λέγουσι. . . γενεσέως apparently a gloss (W.).
8. τὰ conj. W.; τὴν MAId.
163
THEOPHRASTUS
- a > , \ \
τοῦτο ποιεῖ ταῦτο' συγκαταῴφερει yap πολλὰ
lal Nip ee a / a “
τῶν σπερμάτων, καὶ ἅμα σῆψίν τινα τῆς γῆς καὶ
re ὁ ἣν > \ bares / 2.4% a > ,
τοῦ ὕδατος" ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ μίξις αὐτὴ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας
“ “ val ec rn ,
γῆς δοκεῖ τινα γεννᾶν ὕλην. ἐνιαχοῦ de, ἂν μόνον
/ \
ὑπεργάσωνται Kal κινήσωσιν, εὐθὺς ἀναβλαστάνει
lal n 4 “ ΄,ὔ
Ta οἰκεῖα τῆς χώρας, ὥσπερ ἐν Κρήτῃ κυπάριττοι.
\ / a
γίνεται δὲ παραπλήσιόν τι τούτῳ Kal ἐν τοῖς
b] / Ψ \ / > /
ἐλάττοσιν: ἅμα yap κινουμένης ἀναβλαστάνει
πόα τις ἐν ἑκάστοις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἡμιβρόχοις ἐὰν
΄ lf / / / Φ \
ὑπονεάσῃς φαίνεσθαί φασι TpiBorov. αὗται μὲν
fal fol “ / ’
οὖν ἐν τῇ μεταβολῇ τῆς χώρας εἰσίν, εἴτε καὶ
ἐνυπαρχόντων σπερμάτων εἴτε καὶ αὐτῆς πως
διατιθεμένης: ὅπερ ἴσως οὐκ ἄτοπον ἐγκατα-
a “-“ lal \
κλειομένων ἅμα τῶν ὑγρῶν" ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ Kal ὑδάτων
J / > , > ~ “ fol
ἐπιγινομένων ἰδιώτερον ἀνατεῖλαι ὕλης πλῆθος,
f , \
ὥσπερ ev Κυρήνη πιττώδους τινὸς γενομένου καὶ
/ Ὁ \ > ΄ e ’ὔ ee
παχέος: οὕτως yap ἀνεβλάστησεν ἡ πλησίον ὕλη
, > = \ N \ , /
πρότερον οὐκ οὖσα. φασὶ δὲ Kal TO γε σίλφιον
, , \ , .Β
οὐκ ὃν πρότερον ἐκ τοιαύτης τινὸς αἰτίας φανῆ-
, \ a lal
val. τρόποι μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτοι τῶν τοιουτων
γενέσεων.
’ ’
Il. Πάντα δὲ κάρπιμα ἢ ἄκαρπα, καὶ ἀείφυλλα
ἢ φυλλοβόλα, καὶ ἀνθοῦντα ἢ ἀνανθῆ: κοιναὶ
1 ἢ δ᾽... ταὐτὸ conj. W.; ἡ δ᾽ ἐπ. τοῦτ᾽ αὖ ἐποίει ταὐτὸ
UMV (δ᾽ αὖ marked doubtful in Ὁ) ; ἡ δ᾽ ἐπ. τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸ ἐποίει
Ald. 2 Phin: 16.142,
3 7,e. and is released by working the ground.
‘of. C.P. 1. 5. 1; Plin. 16. 143, who gives the date
A.U.0. 180; ef. 19. 41.
164
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 5-0. 1
rain acts in the same way!; for it brings down
many of the seeds with it,and at the same time
causes a sort of decomposition of the earth and of
the water. In fact, the mere mixture of earth with
water in Egypt seems to produce a kind of vegeta-
tion. And in some places, if the ground is merely
lightly worked and stirred, the plants native to the
district immediately spring up; 2 for instance, the
cypress in Crete. And something similar to this
occurs even in smaller plants; as soon as the earth
is stirred, wherever it may be, a sort of vegetation
comes up. And in partly saturated soil, if you
break up the ground, they say that caltrop appears.
Now these ways of origination are due to the change
which takes place in the soil, whether there were
seeds in it already, or whether the soil itself some-
how produces the result. And the latter explanation
is perhaps not strange, seeing that the moist ele-
ment is also locked up in the soil.2 Again, in some
places they say that after rain a more singular
abundance of vegetation has been known to spring
up; for instance, at Cyrene, after a heavy pitchy
shower had fallen: for it was under these circum.
stances that there sprang up the wood?‘ which is
near the town, though till then it did not exist
They say also that silphium’ has been known to
appear from some such cause, where there was none
before. 6 Such are the ways in which these kinds
of generation come about.
Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees.
II. All trees are either fruit-bearing or without
fruit, either evergreen or deciduous, either flowering
5 cf. 6. 3. 6 πριοῦτοι MSS.; τοσοῦτοι conj. W.
165
THEOPHRASTUS
/ ΄ \ © ΄
γάρ τινες διαιρέσεις ἐπὶ πάντων εἰσὶν ὁμοίως
\ \
ἡμέρων τε Kal ἀγρίων. ἴδια δὲ πρὸς τὰ ἥμερα
τῶν ἀγρίων ὀψικαρπία τε καὶ ἰσχὺς καὶ πολυ-
,ὔ a lh , Ν , ,
καρπία τῷ προφαίνειν' πεπαίνει TE yap οψὶιαι-
\ Net > a \ / « > \ \
τερον καὶ TO ὅλον ἀνθεῖ καὶ βλαστάνει ὡς ἐπὶ TO
a / nr
πᾶν: καὶ ἰσχυρότερα τῇ φύσει: Kal προφαΐίνει
>
μὲν πλείω καρπὸν ἐκπέττει δ᾽ ἧττον, εἰ μὴ Kal
Ἕ > / \ e n Ka > / \ > ,
πάντα ἀλλὰ YE TA ομογενὴ, οἷον ἐλάας καὶ ἀπίου
/ ¢ \ τ \
κότινος Kal ἀχράς. ἅπαντα yap οὕτως, πλὴν
lal / lal
εἴ TL σπάνιον, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ TOV κρανείων Kal τῶν
a \ Id /
οὔων: ταῦτα yap δή φασι πεπαίτερα Kal ἡδύτερα
Ni a ς , > \ > ΄ x \
τὰ ἄγρια TOV ἡμέρων εἶναι" Kal εἰ δή TL ἄλλο μὴ
’ a
προσδέχεται γεωργίαν ἢ δένδρον ἢ καί τι τῶν
ΕῚ , - \ 7, \ e / \
ἐλαττόνων, οἷον TO σίλφιον Kal ἡ κάππαρις καὶ
a a ς ἢ ἃ \ ΄ 5, τὰν
τῶν χεδροπῶν ὁ θέρμος, ἃ καὶ μάλιστ᾽ ἄν τις
> \ ’
ἄγρια τὴν φύσιν εἴποι. τὸ γὰρ μὴ προσδεχόμενον
/ 7 tal ΄ a a
ἡμέρωσιν, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ζώοις, τοῦτο ἄγριον TH
΄ , 7 ε
φύσει. καίτοι φησὶν ἽἽππων ἅπαν καὶ ἥμερον
, ¢
Kal ἄγριον εἶναι, καὶ θεραπευόύμενον μὲν ἥμερον
/ a ’ a
μὴ θεραπευόμενον δὲ ἄγριον, TH μὲν ὀρθῶς λέγων
“Ὁ \ > 2 la) ’ / \ “
τῇ δὲ οὐκ ὀρθῶς. ἐξαμελούμενον γὰρ ἅπαν
- / > a /
χεῖρον γίνεται Kal ἀπαγριοῦται, θεραπευόμενον
x > Ὁ / “ Μ ἃ \
δὲ οὐχ ἅπαν βέλτιον, ὥσπερ εἴρηται. ὃ δὴ
/ X\ ?
χωριστέον καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄγρια τὰ δ᾽ ἥμερα λεκτέον,
1 εἰ uh... ὁμογενῆ conj. W.; εἰ μὴ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα καὶ
τὰ ὁμοιογενὴῇ UMVAI.H.
ἌΡ BUS! ge et Pa pat | Bend Gs a)
42) 6. the terms ‘cultivated’ and ‘wild’ do not denote
distinct ‘ kinds.’
166
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. πὶ. 1-2
or flowerless ; for certain distinctions apply to all trees
alike, whether cultivated or wild. To wild trees, as
compared with cultivated ones, belong the special
properties of fruiting late, of greater vigour, of
abundance of fruit, produced if not matured ; for they
ripen their fruit later, and in general their time of
flowering and making growth is later; also they are
more vigorous in growth, and so, though they produce
more fruit, they ripen it less ; if! this is not universally
true, at least it holds good of the wild olive and pear
as compared with the cultivated forms of these trees.
This is generally true with few exceptions, as in the
cornelian cherry and sorb ; for the wild forms of these,
they say, ripen their fruit better, and it is sweeter
than in the cultivated forms. ? And the rule also does
not hold good of anything which does not admit of
cultivation, whether it be a tree or one of the smaller
plants, as silphium caper and, among leguminous
plants, the lupin; these one might say are specially
wild in their character. For, as with animals which
do not submit to domestication, so a plant which does
not submit to cultivation may be called wild in its
essential character. However Hippon ? declares that
of every plant there exists both a cultivated and a
wild form, and that ‘cultivated’ simply means‘ that
the plant has received attention, while ‘ wild’ means
that it has not; but though he is partly right, he is
partly wrong. It is true that any plant deteriorates
by neglect and so becomes wild; but it is not true
that every plant may be improved by attention, as
has been said. Wherefore® we must make our
distinction and call some things wild, others culti-
5 i.e. and so become ‘ cultivated.’
ὅ ὁ δὴ MSS.; διὸ conj. Sch. from G.
167
THEOPHRASTUS
ὥσπερ τῶν ζώων τὰ συνανθρωπευόμενα Kal τὰ
δεχόμενα τιθασείαν.
᾿Αλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὐδὲν ἴσως διαφέρει ποτέρως
ῥητέον. ἅπαν δὲ τὸ ἐξαγριούμενον τοῖς τε
καρποῖς χεῖρον γίνεται καὶ αὐτὸ βραχύτερον
καὶ φύλλοις καὶ κλωσὶ καὶ φλοιῷ καὶ τῇ ὅλῃ
μορφῇ: καὶ γὰρ πυκνότερα καὶ οὐλότερα καὶ
σκληρότερα καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ὅλη ἡ φύσις γίνεται,
ὡς ἐν τούτοις “μάλιστα τῆς διαφορᾶς τῶν ἡμέρων
καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων γινομένης. δι’ ὃ καὶ ὅσα τῶν
ἡμερουμένων τοιαῦτα τυγχάνει, ταῦτα ἄγριά
φασιν εἶναι, καθάπερ τὴν πεύκην καὶ τὴν κυπά-
ρίττον, ἢ ὅλως ἢ τὴν ἄρρενα, καὶ τὴν καρύαν δὲ
καὶ τὴν διοσβάλανον.
Ἔτι τε τῷ φιλόψυχρα καὶ ὀρεινὰ μᾶλλον ε εἶναι"
καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο λαμβάνεται πρὸς τὴν ἀγριότητα
τῶν δένδρων καὶ ὅλως τῶν φυτῶν, εἴτ᾽ οὖν κα
αὑτὸ λαμβανόμενον εἴτε κατὰ συμβεβηκός.
μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀγρίων ἀφορισμὸς εἴθ᾽ οὕτως
ἢ καὶ ἄλλως ληπτέος, οὐδὲν ἂν ἴσως διενέγκοι
πρὸς τὰ νῦν" ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἀληθές, ὥς γε τῷ τύπῳ
καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ὅτι μᾶλλον ὀρεινὰ τὰ ἄγρια καὶ
εὐθενεὶ τὰ πλείω καὶ μᾶλλον ἐν τούτοις τοῖς
τόποις, ἐὰν μή τις λαμβάνῃ τὰ φίχλυδρα καὶ
παραποτάμια καὶ ἀλχσώδη. ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ
τοιαῦτα τυγχάνει πεδεινὰ μᾶλλον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽
ἔν ve τοῖς μεγάλοις ὄρεσιν, οἷον ἸΪαρνησῷ τε
καὶ Κυλλήνῃ καὶ Ὀλύμπῳ τῷ Ππμερικῷ τε καὶ
τῷ Μυσίῳ καὶ εἴ που τοιοῦτον ἕτερον, ἅπαντα
1 τιθασείαν conj. W., cf. Plat. Pol. 2640; τιθάσιον ὉΜΑ]ά,
168
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 2-5
vated—the latter class corresponding to those animals
which live with man and can be tamed.!
But perhaps it does not matter which way this
should be put. Any tree which runs wild deteriorates
in its fruits, and itself becomes dwarfed in leaves
branches bark and appearance generally; for under
cultivation these parts, as well as the whole
growth of the tree, become closer, more compact?
and harder; which indicates that the difference
between cultivated and wild is chiefly shown in these
respects. And so those trees which show these
characteristics under cultivation they say are really
wild, for instance fir cypress, or at least the ‘male’
kind, hazel and chestnut.
Moreover these wild forms are distinguished by
having greater liking for cold and for hilly country :
for that too is regarded as a means of recognising
wild trees and wild plants generally, whether it is so
regarded in itself or as being only incidentally a
distinguishing mark.
So the definition of wild kinds, whether it should
be thus made or otherwise, perhaps makes no
difference for our present purpose. Butit is certainly
true, speaking 8 broadly and generally, that the wild
trees are more to be found in hilly country, and that
the greater part of them flourish more in such regions,
with the exception of those which love water or grow
by river sides or in woods ; these and such-like trees
are rather trees of the plain. However on great
mountains, such as Parnassus Cyllene the Pierian and
the Mysian Olympus, and such regions anywhere
2 ovAdrepa conj. W. from G, spissiora; ὀρθότερα MSS. cf.
Oe Gr 1.88;
3 ὥς ye conj. Sch.; ὥστε UM; ὡς ἐν Ald.H.
169
THEOPHRASTUS
/ \ \ / fal , yy
φύεται διὰ τὴν πολυειδίαν τῶν τόπων' ἔχουσι
γὰρ καὶ λιμνώδεις καὶ ἐνύγρους καὶ ξηροὺς καὶ
γεώδεις καὶ πετρώδεις καὶ τοὺς ἀνὰ μέσον λει-
μῶνας καὶ σχεδὸν ὅσαι διαφοραὶ τῆς γῆς" ἔτι δὲ
τοὺς μὲν κοίλους καὶ εὐδιεινοὺς τοὺς δὲ μετεώρους
καὶ προσηνέμους: ὥστε δύνασθαι παντοῖα καὶ τὰ
a /
ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις φέρειν.
Οὐδὲν δ᾽ ἄτοπον οὐδ᾽ εἰ ἔνια μὴ οὕτω πάμφορα
a ’ a > = ἈΝ / Ἂν .“ A / By fal
TOV ὀρῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἰδιωτέρας τινὸς ὕλης ἢ πάσης ἢ τῆς
a / > lal
πλείστης, οἷον ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ τὰ ᾿Ιδαῖα" κυπάριττος
\ ? a \ \ \ K / \ >> / >
yap ἐκεῖ: καὶ τὰ περὶ Κιλικίαν καὶ Συρίαν, ἐὶ
“ ol / ΄
οἷς κέδρος" ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ τῆς Συρίας τέρμινθος. αἱ
a \ / A
yap διαφοραὶ τῆς χώρας THY ἰδιότητα ποιοῦσιν.
ἀλλ᾽ εἴρηται τὸ ἴδιον ὡς ἐπὶ πᾶν.
IIT. Ἴδια δὲ τὰ τοιάδε τῶν ὀρεινῶν, ἃ ἐν τοῖς
πεδίοις οὐ φύεται, [περὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν] ἐλάτη
7 / > ’, / / \ ra
πεύκη πίτυς ἀγρία dirvpa bvyia φηγὸς πύξος
> / / ” / > \
ἀνδράχλη pros apKevOos τέρμινθος ἐρινεὸς
΄ ᾽ ΄ z / a \
φιλύκη ἀφάρκη καρύα διοσβάλανος πρῖνος. τὰ
δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις μυρίκη πτελέα λεύκη ἐτέα
Μ , , ΄, a ν
αἴγειρος κρανεία θηλυκρανεία κλήθρα δρῦς λακά-
pn ἀχρὰς μηλέα ὀστρύα κήλαστρον μελία πα-
> / / a
Aloupos ὀξυάκανθος <adévdapvos,> ἣν ἐν μὲν TO
1 ἐνςς. Ἰδαῖα conj. W. (after Sch., who conj. τὰ ἐν) ; τὰ
ἐν κρήτῃ τῇ ᾿Ιδαίᾳ UAId.
3.1.6. it is not meant that a tree which is ‘special’ to
Mount Ida (e.g.) occurs only there.
3 περὶ τὴν Mak.? a gloss; περί τε τὴν Max. MP,Ald.; τε om. P.
170
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IIT. u. 5-11. 1
else, all kinds grow, because of the diversity of
positions afforded them. For such mountains offer
positions which are marshy, wet, dry, deep-soiled or
rocky ; they have also their meadow land here and
there, and in fact almost every variety of soil; again
they present positions which lie low and are shel-
tered, as well as others which are lofty and exposed
to wind; so that they can bear all sorts, even those
which belong to the plains.
Yet itis not strange that there should be some
mountains which do not thus bear all things, but
have a more special kind of vegetation to a grea’,
extent if not entirely; for instance the range of Ida
in Crete!; for there the cypress grows; or the hills
of Cilicia and Syria, on which the Syrian cedar
grows, or certain parts of Syria, where the terebinth
grows. For it is the differences of soil which give
a special character to the vegetation. 3 (However
the word ‘special’ is used here in a somewhat
extended sense. )
Of mountain trees: of the differences found tn wild trees.
III. The following trees are peculiar to mountain
country and do not grow in the plains; 3 let us
take Macedonia as an example. Silver-fir fir ‘ wild
pine’ lime sygia Valonia oak box andrachne yew
Phoenician cedar terebinth wild fig alaternus hybrid
arbutus hazel chestnut kermes-oak. The following
grow also in the plain: tamarisk elm abele willow
black poplar cornelian cherry cornel alder oak /akare
(bird-cherry) wild pear apple hop-hornbeam holly
manna-ash Christ’s thorn cotoneaster maple,* which
4 σφένδαμνος add. Palm. in view of what follows ; ὀξνάκαρτα
ἄκανθος UPAld. Bas.; ἄκανθος P,.
171
THEOPHRASTUS
ὄρει πεφυκυῖαν ξυγίαν καλοῦσιν, ἐν δὲ τῷ πεδίῳ
γλεῖνον. οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλως διαιροῦσι καὶ ἕτερον ποι-
οὔσιν εἶδος σφενδάμνου καὶ ζυγίας.
“Aravta δὲ ὅσα κοινὰ τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ τῶν
πεδίων, μείζω μὲν καὶ καλλίω τῇ ὄψει τὰ ἐν τοῖς
πεδίοις γίνεται, κρείττω δὲ τῇ χρείᾳ τῇ τε τῶν
ξύλων καὶ τῇ τῶν καρπῶν τὰ oped: πλὴν
ἀχράδος καὶ ἀπίου καὶ μηλέας" αὗται δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς
πεδίοις κρείττους. οὐ μόνον τοῖς καρποῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ
τοῖς ξύλοις" ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ὄρεσι μικραὶ καὶ ὀξώδεις
καὶ ἀκανθώδεις γίνονται" πάντα δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς
ὄρεσιν, ὅταν ἐπιλάβωνται τῶν οἰκείων τόπων, καὶ
καλλίω φύεται καὶ εὐθενεῖ μᾶλλον: ὡς δὲ ἁπλῶς
εἰπεῖν τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὁμαλέσι τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ μάλιστα,
τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τὰ ἐν τοῖς κάτω καὶ κοίλοις" τὰ δ᾽
ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων χείριστα, πλὴν εἴ τι τῇ φύσει
φιλόψυχρον' ἔχει δὲ καὶ ταῦτ᾽ αὖ τινα διαφορὰν
ἐν τοῖς ἀνομοίους τῶν τόπων, ὑπὲρ ὧν ὕστερον
λεκτέον' νῦν δὲ διαιρετέον ἕ, ἕκαστον κατὰ τὰς δια-
φορὰς τὰς εἰρημένας.
Αείφυλλα μὲν οὖν ἐστι τῶν ἀγρίων ἃ καὶ
πρότερον ἐλέχθη, ἐλάτη πεύκη πίτυς ἀγρία πύξος
ἀνδράχλη μίλος ἄρκευθος τέρμινθος φιλύκη
ἀφάρκη δάφνη φελλόδρυς κήλαστρον ὀξυάκανθος
πρῖνος “μυρίκη: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα φυλλοβολεῖ:
πλὴν εἴ τι περιττὸν ἐνιαχοῦ, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη περὶ
τῆς ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ πλατάνου καὶ δρυὸς καὶ εἴ που
τόπος τις ὅλως εὔτροφος.
1 δ᾽ ἄλλως con}. Sch. from G; 8 ad Ald. ? Plin. 16. 77.
3 2,6. are not always of the poorest quality. ταῦτ᾽ αὖ τινα
con}. W.; ταῦτα αὑτῶν Ald.H. 3.1. 9. ὃ.
172
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. πὶ. 1-3
when it grows in the mountains, is called sygia,
when in the plain, gleinos: others, however,} classify
differently and make maple and zygza distinct trees.
2 All those trees which are common to both hill
and plain are taller and finer in appearance when
they grow in the plain; but the mountain forms are
better as to producing serviceable timber and fruits,
with the exception of wild pear pear and apple;
these are in the plain better in fruit and also in
timber; for in the hills they grow small with many
knots and much spinous wood. But even on the
mountains all trees grow fairer and are more vigorous
when they have secured a suitable position; and, to
speak generally, those which grow on the level parts
of the mountains are specially fair and vigorous ;
next to these come those which grow on the lower
parts and in the hollows; while those that grow on
the heights are of the poorest quality, except any
that are naturally cold-loving. But even these shew
some variation? in different positions, of which we
must speak later; for the present we must in our
distinctions in each case take account only of the
differences already mentioned.
Now among wild trees those are evergreen which
were mentioned before,‘ silver-fir fir ‘ wild pine’ box
andrachne yew Phoenician cedar terebinth alaternus
hybrid arbutus bay phellodrys® (holm-oak) holly
cotoneaster kermes-oak tamarisk ; but all the others
shed their leaves, unless it be that in certain places
they keep them exceptionally, as was said® of the
plane and oak in Crete and in any other place which
is altogether favourable to luxuriant growth.
: | φελλόδρυς conj. Bod., cf. 1. 9. 8; φελλὸς δρῦς UMV(?)Ald.
6 1:0: 5
173
4
THEOPHRASTUS
/ \ \ \ ΝΜ 4 \ Be ἈΕῚ,
Κάρπιμα δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα TavTa: περὶ δὲ ἰτέας
\ > , A / {4 3 /
καὶ αἰγείρου καὶ πτελέας, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, διαμφισ-
fal , \ a
βητοῦσιν. ἔνιοι δὲ THY αἴγειρον μόνην ἀκαρπεῖν
“ \ e > ᾽ ,ὔ N \ ”
φασιν, ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα
πάντα τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι καρποφορεῖν. ἐν Κρήτῃ
a / /
δὲ καὶ αἴγειροι κάρπιμοι πλείους εἰσί: μία μὲν ἐν
a 7, im! .,,} a > av > e \
τῷ στομίῳ τοῦ ἄντρου Tov ἐν τῇ "1δῃ, ἐν ᾧ τὰ
> ΄ 2 ΄ ” δὲ \ /
ἀναθήματα ἀνάκειται, ἄλλη δὲ μικρὰ πλησίον'
,
ἀπωτέρω δὲ μάλιστα δώδεκα σταδίους περί τινα
΄ὔ - 7 / te 2 dren’, \ \
κρήνην Σαύρου καλουμένην πολλαί. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ
ν τῷ πλησίον ὄρει τῆς “Idns ἐν τῷ Κινδρί
oe " Ἂν ὠ \ we 4 , : \ Ἶ ἢ Δ
b] a 5
καλουμένῳ καὶ περὶ [Π]ραισίαν δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν.
, la ΄ 3
οἱ δὲ μόνον τῶν τοιούτων τὴν πτελέαν κάρπιμον
- , / € \ /
εἶναί φασι, καθάπερ οἱ περὶ Μακεδονίαν.
\ \
Μεγάλη δὲ διαφορὰ πρὸς καρπὸν καὶ ἀκαρπίαν
rn ΄ ’ a
καὶ ἡ τῶν τόπων φύσις, ὥσπερ ἐπί TE τῆς περσέας
lal / \
ἔχει Kal τῶν φοινίκων: ἡ μὲν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καρπο-
“ \ ” lal , / > ς aN \
φορεῖ καὶ εἴ που τῶν πλησίον τόπων, ἐν Ῥόδῳ δὲ
Ψ “ » “ , > “ ς \ an
μέχρι TOD ἀνθεῖν μόνον ἀφικνεῖται. ὁ δὲ φοῖνιξ
a , a
περὶ μὲν Βαβυλῶνα θαυμαστός, ἐν τῇ ᾿Ελλάδι δὲ
950" , ν᾽ 9} Nee 9" ,
οὐδὲ πεπαίνει, Tap ἐνίοις δὲ ὅλως οὐδὲ προφαίνει
΄
καρπόν.
/ \ / fal ,
‘Opotos δὲ καὶ ἕτερα πλείω τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστίν' ἐπεὶ
an / ’ὔ \ a
Kal TOV ἐλαττόνων ποαρίων Kal ὑλημάτων ἐν TH
2s 2. 10:
2 cf. 2.2.10. It appears that the buds of the poplar were
mistaken for fruit (Sch.); ef. Diose. 1. 81. Later writers
perpetuated the error by calling them κόκκοι.
3 τοῦ ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ conj. Sch.; τοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἴδῃ U3 τοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἴδης
MV ; ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ Ald.H.
174
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. πα. 4-6
Most trees are fruit-bearing, but about willow
black poplar and elm men hold different opinions,
as was said!; and some, as the Arcadians, say that only
the black poplar is without fruit, but that all the
other mountain trees bear fruit. However in Crete
there are a number of black poplars which bear fruit ? ;
there is one at the mouth of the cave on mount Ida,?
in which the dedicatory offerings are hung, and
there is another small one not far off, and there are
quite a number about a spring called the Lizard’s
Spring about twelve furlongs off. There are also
some in the hill-country of Ida in the same neigh-
bourhood, in the district called Kindria and in the
mountains about Praisia.¢ Others again, as the
Macedonians, say that the elm is the only tree of this
class which bears fruit.
Again the character of the position makes a great
difference as to fruit-bearing, as in the case of the
persea® and the date-palm. The persea of Egypt
bears fruit, and so it does wherever it grows in the
neighbouring districts, but in Rhodes® it only gets
as far as flowering. The date-palm in the neighbour-
hood of Babylon is marvellously fruitful ; in Hellas it
does not even ripen its fruit, and in some plices it
does not even produce any.
The same may be said of various other trees: in
fact even’ of smaller herbaceous plants and bushes
some are fruitful, others not, although the latter are
4 πραισίαν conj. Meurs. Creta; τιρασίαν UMVAId.
5 of. 4.2.5. περσέαι conj. R. Const.; περσείας U; mepaias
Ald.
6 «Ῥόδῳ conj. R. Const. from G, so too Plin. 16. 111; fda
Ald. cf. 1. 13. 5. for a similar corruption.
7 ἐπεὶ καὶ conj. Sch. from G ; ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Ald.
175
THEOPHRASTUS
αὐτῇ χώρᾳ καὶ συνόρῳ χώρᾳ τὰ μὲν κάρπιμα τὰ
δ᾽ ἄκαρπα γίνεται" καθάπερ καὶ τὸ κενταύριον ἐν
τῇ λείᾳ, τὸ μὲν ἐν τῇ ὀρεινῇ κάρπιμον, τὸ δ᾽ ἐν
a ᾽ὔ » > Ν » al Ν 3 3 “
τῷ πεδίῳ ἄκαρπον ἀλλὰ μονον ἀνθεῖ, τὸ δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς
/ , Ὸ»7 ? vad \ a al ν᾿
κοίλοις τόποις οὐδ᾽ ἀνθεῖ πλὴν κακῶς. δοκεῖ ὃ
a »Μ a e a lal
οὗν Kal τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ὁμογενῶν καὶ ἐν μιᾷ
προσηγορίᾳ τὸ μὲν ἄκαρπον εἶναι τὸ δὲ κάρπιμον,
οἷον πρῖνος ὁ μὲν κάρπιμος ὁ δ᾽ ἄκαρπος: καὶ
κλήθρα δὲ ὡσαύτως" ἀνθεῖ δ᾽ ἄμφω. σχεδὸν δὲ
al » “ « lal ΕΣ
ὅσα καλοῦσιν ἄρρενα τῶν ὁμογενῶν ἄκαρπα" καὶ
Ἧ o \
τούτων τὰ μὲν πολλὰ ἀνθεῖν φασι τὰ δ᾽ ὀλίγον
ε a N
τὰ δ᾽ ὅλως οὐδ᾽ ἀνθεῖν: τὰ δὲ ἀνάπαλιν, τὰ per
΄ lal ’ \ ᾽
ἄρρενα μόνα καρποφορεῖν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἀπό γε
a > θῶ ΄, θ \ δέ ὃ θ , \ b \
τῶν ἀνθῶν φύεσθαι Ta δενὸρα, καθάπερ καὶ ἀπὸ
a a tA id N “
τῶν καρπῶν ὅσα κάρπιμα: καὶ ἐν ἀμφοῖν οὕτως
\ Oo \
ἐνίοτε πυκνὴν εἶναι τὴν ἔκφυσιν ὥστε τοὺς
/ “7
ὀρεοτύπους οὐ δύνασθαι διϊέναι μὴ ὁδοποιη-
,
σαμένους.
᾿Αμφισβητεῖται δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀνθῶν ἐνίων,
ς \ ai fa) -
ὥσπερ εἴπομεν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ καὶ δρῦν ἀνθεῖν
\ «ς cal /
οἴονται καὶ τὴν Ἡρακλεῶτιν καρύαν καὶ διοσ-
7 ” \ ΄ \ ἢ e 5 IO\
βάλανον, ἔτι δὲ πεύκην καὶ πίτυν" of δ᾽ οὐδὲν
, ᾽ \ \ » \ ᾽ - 7, \
τούτων, AANA TOV ἰουλον TOV EV ταῖς καρύαις καὶ
Ν 7.- \ \
τὸ βρύον τὸ Spvivoy καὶ τὸν κύτταρον τὸν πιτύ-
1 χώρᾳ καὶ Ald. ; ἢ καὶ conj. St.
3.2.6. the ‘males’ are sterile whether they flower or not.
καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν πολλὰ I conj.; τούτων τὰ πολλὰ τὰ μὲν Ald.
8. 22,6. the flowers of the ‘ female’ tree.
4 23,6. (a) in those trees whose ‘male’ form is sterile,
whether it bears flowers or not; (b) in those whose ‘ male’
176
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. ut. 6-8
growing in the same place as the former, or! quite
near it. Take for instance the centaury in Elea; where
it grows in hill-country, it is fruitful; where it grows
in the plain, it bears no fruit, but only flowers; and
where it grows in deep valleys, it does not even
flower, unless it be scantily. Any way it appears
that, even of other plants which are of the same
kind and all go by the same name, one will be
without fruit, while another bears fruit ; for instance,
one kermes-oak will be fruitful, another not ; and the
same is true of the alder, though both produce
flowers. And, generally speaking, all those of any
given kind which are called ‘ male’ trees are without
fruit, and that though? some of these, they say,
produce many flowers, some few, some none at all.
On the other hand they say that in some eases it is
only the ‘males’ that bear fruit, but that, in spite
of this, the trees grow from the flowers,? (just as in
the case of fruit-bearing trees they grow from the
fruit). And they add that in both cases,‘ the crop
of seedlings ° which comes up is sometimes so thick
that the woodmen cannot get through except by
clearing a way.
There is also a doubt about the flower of some
trees, as we said. Some think that the oak bears
flowers, and also the filbert the chestnut and even
the fir and Aleppo pine; some however think that
none of these has a flower, but that,—resembling ὅ
and corresponding to the wild figs which drop off
prematurely, we have in the nuts the catkin,’ in the
form alone bears fruit, but the fruit is infertile. The passage
is obscure: W. gives up the text.
5 ἔκφυσιν. cf. 7. 4. 3.
ὁ ὅμοιον conj.W.; ὁμοίαν UAld. ef. 3. 7. 3.
ὉΠ 9. δ᾽ ὃ.
THEOPHRASTUS
” “ ““
ἵνον ὅμοιον καὶ ἀνάλογον εἶναι τοῖς προαπο-
πτώτοις ἐρινοῖς. οἱ δὲ περὶ Μακεδονίαν οὐδὲ
a ΄ ᾽ a ” ’ Fé aw /
ταῦτά φασιν ἀνθεῖν ἄρκευθον ὀξύην apiav σφέν-
/ /
δαμνον. ἔνιοι δὲ τὰς ἀρκεύθους δύο εἶναι, καὶ τὴν
/ lal ’ ᾽ 3
μὲν ἑτέραν ἀνθεῖν μὲν ἄκαρπον δ᾽ εἶναι, τὴν δὲ
ον > 3 a \ \ \ / ᾽ \
ἑτέραν οὐκ ἀνθεῖν μὲν καρπὸν δὲ φέρειν εὐθὺς
“ SY at a \ ΄
προφαινόμενον, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰς συκᾶς τὰ ἐρινά.
, ᾽ 3 “ wks ΄ ” \ \
συμβαίνει δ᾽ οὖν ὥστε ἐπὶ δύο ἔτη TOY καρπὸν
/ ral n / a >
ἔχειν μόνον τοῦτο τῶν δένδρων. ταῦτα μὲν οὗν
ἐπισκεπτέον.
/ n /
IV. Ἡ δὲ βλάστησις τῶν μὲν ἅμα γίνεται Kai
lal / a \ Ν a
TOV ἡμέρων, TOV δὲ μικρὸν ἐπιλειπομένη, τῶν δ᾽
\ \ \ ¢
ἤδη πλέον, ἁπάντων δὲ KATA τὴν ἠρινὴν ὥραν.
᾽ Ν n an c % 7 “
ἀλλὰ τῶν καρπῶν ἢ παραλλαγὴ πλείων" ὥσπερ
΄ > \ \
δὲ Kal πρότερον εἴπομεν, OV κατὰ τὰς βλαστήσεις
Ὁ / ᾽ \ \ 4 ’ \ \
αἱ πεπάνσεις ἀλλὰ πολὺ διαφέρουσιν: ἐπεὶ Kal
lal >? / a / /
τῶν ὀψικαρποτέρων, ἃ δή τινές φασιν ἐνιαυτο-
- ” \ a “ ε
φορεῖν, οἷον ἄρκευθον καὶ πρῖνον, ὅμως αἱ βλασ-
δ τῷ \ J na Ν ¢ a a
τήσεις τοῦ ἦρος. αὐτὰ δ᾽ αὑτῶν τὰ ὁμογενῆ τῷ
¢ \ U
πρότερον καὶ ὕστερον διαφέρει κατὰ τοὺς τόπους"
a \ x al
πρῶτα μὲν yap βλαστάνει τὰ ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσιν, ὡς
ς \ , / ΄ \ NS) “
οἱ περὶ Μακεδονίαν λέγουσι, δεύτερα δὲ τὰ ἐν τοῖς
, \ \ va 4
πεδίοις, ἔσχατα δὲ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν.
a a / ᾿
Αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα δένδρων τὰ μὲν
1 7.e. the male flower, cf. Schol. on Ar. Vesp. 1111.
Θεόφραστος κυρίως λέγει κύτταρον THY προάνθησιν τῆς πίτυος:
but no explanation of such a use of the word suggests itself.
chav aa 4 87,
2 ἀρίαν conj. Sch., of. 3. 4. 2; 3.16.3; 3.17.1; ὀξύνην ἀγρίαν
Ald.
178
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. m1. 8-1v. 2
oak the oak-moss, in the pine the ‘flowering tuft.’ 1
The people of Macedonia say that these trees also
produce no flowers—Phoenician cedar beech aria?
(holm-oak) maple. Others distinguish two kinds of
Phoenician cedar, of which one bears flowers but
bears no fruit, while the other, though it has no
flower, bears a fruit which shows itself at once 3—
just as wild figs produce their abortive fruit. How-
ever that may be,‘ it is a fact that this is the only
tree which keeps its fruit for two years. These
matters then need enquiry.
Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as compared
with cultivated, trees.
IV. Now the budding of wild trees occurs in some
cases at the same time as that of the cultivated forms,
but in some cases somewhat, and in some a good
deal later; but in all cases it is during the spring
season. But there is greater diversity in the time of
fruiting ; as we said before, the times of ripening do
not correspond to those of budding, but there are
wide differences. For even in the case of those
trees which are somewhat late in fruiting,—which
some say take a year to ripen their fruit—such as
Phoenician cedar and kermes-oak, the budding
nevertheless takes place in the spring. Again there
are differences of time between individual trees of
the same kind, according to the locality; those in
the marshes bud earliest, as the Macedonians say,
second to them those in the plains, and latest those
in the mountains.
Again of particular trees some wild ones bud
3 2.6. without antecedent flower.
4 δ᾽ οὖν conj. W.; σχεδὸν UMVAId.
179
THEOPHRASTUS
/ a e / ’ ,
συναναβλαστάνει τοῖς ἡμέροις, οἷον ἀνδράχλη
’ / > X \ ζω δ a > ΄ \
ἀφάρκη: aypas δὲ μικρῷ ὕστερον τῆς ἀπίου. Ta
Ν \ x , Ν \ \ ᾽ \ ’΄
δὲ καὶ πρὸ ζεφύρου καὶ μετὰ πνοὰς εὐθὺ ζεφύρου.
\ \ 4 \ / \ ’
καὶ πρὸ ζεφύρου μὲν κρανεία καὶ θηλυκρανεία,
μετὰ ζέφυρον δὲ δάφνη κλήθρα, πρὸ ἰσημερίας δὲ
\ / ’; Ν fol of.
μικρὸν φίλυρα ζυγία φηγὸς συκῆ: πρωΐβλαστα
\ \ 4 \ n \ > VA 4 \ a
δὲ καὶ καρύα Kal δρῦς καὶ ἀκτέος" ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον
Ν Μ “ \ > rs / ,
Ta ἄκαρπα δοκοῦντα Kal ἀλσώδη, λεύκη πτελέα
᾽ / ” / \ “ ’ ,
ἰτέα αἴγειρος: πλάτανος δὲ μικρῷ ὀψιαίτερον
τούτων. τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ὥσπερ ἐνισταμένου τοῦ
ἦρος, οἷον ἐρινεὸς φιλύκη ὀξυάκανθος παλίουρος
τέρμινθος καρύα διοσβάλανος: μηλέα δ᾽ ὀψί-
βλαστος" ὀψιβλαστότατον δὲ σχεδὸν ios ἀρία
, = , e \ 5 /
TeTpaywvia θύεια piros. αἱ μὲν οὖν βλαστήσεις
οὕτως ἔχουσιν.
Αἱ δὲ ἀνθήσεις ἀκολουθοῦσι μὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν κατὰ
λόγον, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ παραλλάττουσι, μᾶλλον δὲ
καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον ἡ τῶν καρπῶν τελείωσις. κρανεία
\ Pia
μὲν yap ἀποδίδωσι περὶ τροπὰς θερινὰς ἡ πρώϊος
\ “ “Ὁ ς a] wv ry /
σχεδὸν ὥσπερ πρῶτον: ἡ δ᾽ ὄψιος, ἣν δή τινες
καλοῦσι θηλυκρανείαν, μετ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ μετόπωρον'
" ἈΠΕ ͵΄ \ v . \ ,
ἔστι δὲ ὁ ταύτης καρπὸς ἄβρωτος καὶ TO ξύλον
» \ \ a δ \ \
ἀσθενὲς καὶ χαῦνον: tocavtn δὴ διαφορὰ περὶ
ἄμφω. τέρμινθος δὲ περὶ πυροῦ ἀμητὸν ἢ μικρῷ
1 See below, ἢ. 4.
2 τὰ ak. Sox. kal ἀλσ. conj. W.; τὰ ἀκ. καὶ δοκ. καὶ aro. U
ΜΡ; τὰ ἀκ. τὰ Bun. ado. Ald.
3 ὥσπερ apologises for the unusual sense given to ἐνιστ.
180
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. τιν. 2-4
along with the cultivated forms, as andrachne and
hybrid arbutus ; and the wild pear is a little later
than the cultivated. Some again bud both before
zephyr begins to blow, and immediately after it has
been blowing. Before it come cornelian cherry and
cornel, after it bay and alder; a little before the
spring equinox come lime zygia Valonia oak fig.
Hazel! oak and elder are also early in budding, and
still more those trees which seem to have no fruit
and to grow in groves,? abele elm willow black
poplar ; and the plane is a little later than these.
The others which bud when the spring is, as it were,
becoming established,? are such as wild fig alaternus
cotoneaster Christ’s thorn terebinth hazel 4 chestnut.
The apple is late in budding, latest of all generally
are wpsos® (cork-oak) aria (holm-oak) tetragonia
odorous cedar yew. Such are the times of budding.
The flowering times in general follow in proportion ;
but they present some irregularity, and so in still
more cases and to a greater extent do the times at
which the fruit is matured. The cornelian cherry pro-
duces its fruit about the summer solstice ; the early
kind, that is to say, and this tree is about the earliest
of all.6 The late form, which some call ‘female
cornelian cherry’ (cornel), fruits quite at the end of
autumn. ‘The fruit of this kind is inedible and its
wood is weak and spongy ; that is what the difference
between the two kinds amounts to. The terebinth
produces its fruit about the time of wheat-harvest or
(usually ‘ beginning’). τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα ὥσπερ ἐνιστ. conj. W.; τὰ
δ᾽ ἄλλως wep’ U; τὰ δὲ ἄλλως περιενισταμένου MAId. Η,
4 καρύα can hardly be right both here and above.
5 See Index.
ὁ σχεδὸν ὥσπερ πρῶτον not in G, nor in Plin. (16. 105) ; text
perhaps defective,
181
THEOPHRASTUS
ὀψιαίτερον ἀποδίδωσι Kal μελία καὶ σφένδαμνος
τοῦ θέρους τὸν καρπόν' κλήθρα δὲ καὶ καρύα καὶ
ἀχράδων τι γένος μετοπώρου" δρῦς δὲ καὶ διοσ-
βάλανος ὀψιαίτερον ἔτι περὶ Πλειάδος δύσιν,
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ φιλύκη καὶ πρῖνος καὶ παλίουρος
καὶ ὀξυάκανθος μετὰ Πλείαδος δύσιν' ἡ δ᾽ ἀρία
χειμῶνος ἀρχομένου" καὶ ἡ μηλέα μὲν τοῖς πρώτοις
ψύχεσιν, ἀχρὰς δὲ ὀψία χειμῶνος" ἀνδράγλη δὲ
καὶ ἀφάρκη τὸ μὲν πρῶτον πεπαίνουσιν ἅμα τῷ
βότρυϊ περκάζοντι, τὸ δὲ ὕστερον, δοκεῖ γὰρ ταῦτα
δίκαρπα, ἀρχομένου τοῦ “χειμῶνος, ἐλάτη δὲ καὶ
δ μίλος ἀνθοῦσι μικρὸν πρὸ ἡλίου τροπῶν' [καὶ τῆς
γε ἐλάτης τὸ ἄνθος κρόκινον. καὶ ἄλλως καλόν"]
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἀφιᾶσι μετὰ δύσιν ΤΙ λειάδος.
πεύκη δὲ καὶ πίτυς προτεροῦσι τῇ βλαστήσει
μικρόν, ὅσον πεντεκαίδεκα ἡμέραις, τοὺς δὲ καρ-
ποὺς ἀποδιδόασι μετὰ Πλειάδα κατὰ λόγον.
Tadta μὲν οὖν μετριωτέραν μὲν ἔχει παραλλα-
yn: πάντων δὲ πλείστην ἡ ἄρκευθος καὶ ἡ κήλασ-
τρος καὶ ἡ πρῖνος" ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἄρκευθος ἐνιαύσιον
ἔχειν δοκεῖ" περικαταλαμβάνει γὰρ ὁ νέος τὸν περυ-
σινόν. ὡς δέ τινές φασιν, οὐδὲ πεπαίνει, δι᾽ ὃ καὶ
προαφαιροῦσι καὶ χρόνον τινὰ τηροῦσιν" ἐὰν δὲ ἐ ἐᾷ
6 ἐπὶ τοῦ δένδρου TUS; ἀποξηραίνεται. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν
mpivov οἱ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν ἐνιαυτῷ πελειοῦν' ἅμα
γὰρ τὸν ἔνον πεπαίνει καὶ τὸν νέον ὑποφαίνει"
ὥστε τοῖς τοιούτοις συμβαίνει συνεχῶς τὸν καρπὸν
ἔχειν. φασὶ δέ γε καὶ τὴν κήλαστρον ὑπὸ τοῦ
1 ἀποδ. καὶ μελία U ; ἀποδίδωσι: μελία Ald. Some confusion
in text, but sense clear.
2 ὀψία: 1 ἡ ὀψία W.
182
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. tv. 4-6
a little later, manna-ash! and maple in summer; alder
hazel and a certain kind of wild pear in autumn;
oak and chestnut later still, about the setting of the
Pleiad ; and in like manner alaternus kermes-oak
Christ’s-thorn cotoneaster after the setting of the
Pleiad; aria (holm-oak) when winter is beginning,
apple with the first cold weather, wild pear late? in
winter. Andrachne and hybrid arbutus first ripen
their fruit when the grape is turning, and again 3
when winter is beginning ; for these trees appear to
bear twice. As for‘ silver-fir and yew, they flower
a little before the solstice ; °(the flower of the silver-
fir is yellow and otherwise pretty) ; they bear their
fruit after the setting of the Pleiad. Fir and Aleppo
pine are a little earlier in budding, about fifteen
days, but produce their fruit after the setting of the
Pleiad, though proportionately earlier than silver-fir
and yew.
In these trees then the difference of time is not
considerable ; the greatest difference is shewn in
Phoenician cedar holly and kermes-oak; for Phoe-
nician cedar appears to keep its fruit for a year, the
new fruit overtaking that of last year; and, accord-
ing to some, it does not ripen it at all; wherefore
men gather it unripe and keep it, whereas if it is left
on the tree, it shrivels up. The Arcadians say that
the kermes-oak also takes a year to perfect its fruit ;
for it ripens last year’s fruit at the same time that
the new fruit appears on it; the result of which is that
such trees always have fruit on them. They say also
3 After ὕστερον Ald. adds ἀνθοῦντι (so also H and G); Plin.
13. 121. omits it ; om. ὟΝ. after Sch.
4 γὰρ Ald.; δὲ conj. W.
5 Probably an early gloss, W. ef. Plin. 16. 106.
183
THEOPHRASTUS
a / ‘
χειμῶνος ἀποβάλλειν. ὀψίκαρπα δὲ σφόδρα καὶ
/ \ wf Ν \ Ἂν; »
φίλυρα καὶ πύξος. [τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἄβρωτον
, /
ἔχει παντὶ Com φίλυρα θηλυκρανεία πύδξος.
’ 4 ἣν \ ἊΝ 7 ” \
ὀψίκαρπα δὲ καὶ κιττὸν Kal ἄρκευθος καὶ
/ A , / id Ν « ἘΠΡΝἥἤ{ /
πεύκη Kal ἀνδράχλη.] ὡς δὲ οἱ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν
᾿] ,
φασίν, ἔτει τούτων ὀψικαρπότερα σχεδὸν
» ’ὔ
δὲ πάντων ὀψιαίτερα τετραγωνία θύεια μί-
A a 4
λος. αἱ μὲν οὖν τῶν καρπῶν ἀποβολαὶ καὶ
πεπάνσεις τῶν ἀγρίων τοιαύτας ἔχουσι διαφορὰς
> / Ν x “ > Ni \ \ € 4
οὐ μόνον πρὸς Ta ἥμερα ἀλλὰ καὶ προς εαυτα.
/
V. Συμβαίνει 8 ὅταν ἄρξωνται βλαστάνειν
\ A ” A , , \ \
Ta μὲν ἄλλα συνεχῆ τήν τε βλάστησιν καὶ τὴν
” a / \ \ > / \
αὔξησιν ποιεῖσθαι, πεύκην δὲ καὶ ἐλάτην Kal
lal /, al «ς an
δρῦν διαλείπειν, καὶ τρεῖς ὁρμὰς εἶναι καὶ τρεῖς
? Id / x A ἈΝ / n \
ἀφιέναι βλαστούς, dt’ ὃ καὶ τρίσλοποι' πᾶν γὰρ
\ / « / na nr \
δὴ δένδρον ὅταν βλαστάνῃ λοπᾷ' πρῶτον μὲν
ἄκρου ἔαρος εὐθὺς ἱσταμένου τοῦ Θαργηλιῶνος,
> \ nw \ fe / ς
ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἴδῃ περὶ πεντεκαίδεκα μάλιστα ἡμέρας"
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα διαλιπόντα περὶ τριάκοντα ἢ
μικρῷ πλείους ἐπιβάλλεται πάλιν ἄλλους βλασ-
τοὺς ἀπ᾿ ἄκρας τῆς κορυνήσεως τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ προ-
tow βλαστῷ: καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄνω τὰ δ᾽ εἰς τὰ
τέρῳ ¢ μ ἰς τὰ
o / a \ 4 i
πλάγια κύκλῳ ποιεῖται τὴν βλάστησιν, οἷον γονυ
1 φίλυρα Ald.; φιλυρέα conj. Sch.
2 σὸν 5&.... ἀνδράχλη. Apparently a gloss, W.
8 τετραγωνία conj. Sch. (τετρα- omitted after -repa): cf. § 2;
γωνία MV ; γωνίεια U.
4 τῶν ἀγρίων after πεπάνσεις con}. Sch.; after ἥμερα Ald.
δ Phin, 16.100.
184
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1v. 6—-v. 1
that holly loses its fruit owing to the winter. [Lime!
and box are very late in fruiting, (lime has a fruit
which no animal can eat, and so have cornel and
box. Ivy Phoenician cedar fir and andrachne are
late fruiting?) though, according to the Arcadians,
still later than these and almost latest of all are
tetragonia® odorous cedar and yew. Such then
are the differences as to the time of shedding and
ripening their fruit between wild* as compared
with cultivated trees, and likewise as compared with
one another.
Of the seasons of budding.
V. 5Now most trees, when they have once begun
to bud, make their budding and their growth con-
tinuously, but with fir silver-fir and oak there are
intervals. They make three fresh starts in growth
and produce three separate sets of buds; wherefore
also they lose their bark thrice®a year. For every
tree loses its bark when it is budding. This first
happens in mid-spring’” at the very beginning of the
month Thargelion,? on Mount Ida within about
fifteen days of that time; later, after an interval of
about thirty days or rather more, the tree? puts on
fresh buds which start from the head of the knobby
growth!? which formed at the first budding-time; and
it makes its budding partly on the top of this,!! partly
all round it laterally,!? using the knob formed at the
8 πρίσλοποι conj. Sch.; τρίσλοιποι UM2V; τρίσλεποι Μ᾿ Ald.
CfA. 15.3500. 1.1.
7 Zapos conj. R. Const.; ἀέρος VAld. αἵ. Plin. l.c.
8 About May.
® What follows evidently applies only to the oak.
a sseuengees conj. Sch.; κορύνης ἕως UMV; κορυφῆς ews
Ald.
τ ΟἿΣ 12 +4 add. Sch,
185
THEOPHRASTUS
ποιησάμενα THY TOD πρώτου βλαστοῦ κορύνην,
ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ πρώτη βλάστησις ἔχει. γίνεται δὲ
τοῦτο περὶ TOV Σκιρροφοριῶνα λήγοντα.
Κατὰ δὲ ταύτην τὴν βλάστησιν καὶ ἡ κηκὶς
φύεται πᾶσα, καὶ ἡ λευκὴ καὶ ἡ μέλαινα" φύεται
δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ νυκτὸς ἀθρόος: ἐφ᾽ ἡμέραν δὲ
μίαν αὐξηθεῖσα, πλὴν τὴς πιττοειδοῦς, ἐὰν ὑπὸ
τοῦ καύματος ληφθῇ ξηραίνεται, καὶ ἀναυξὴς ἐ ἐπὶ
τὸ μεῖζον, ἐγίνετο γὰρ ἂν μείξων τῷ μεγέθει.
διόπερ τινὲς αὐτῶν οὐ μεῖξον ἔχουσι κυάμου τὸ
μέγεθος. ἡ δὲ μέλαινα καὶ ἐπὶ πλείους ἡμέρας
ἔγχλωρός ἐστι, καὶ αὐξάνονται καὶ λαμβάνουσιν
ἔνιαι μέγεθος μήλου.
Διαλείποντα δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο περὶ πεντεκαίδεκα
ἡμέρας πάλιν τὸ τρίτον ἐπιβάλλεται βλαστοὺς
Ἑκατομβαιῶνος, ἐλαχίστας ἡμέρας τῶν πρότε-
pov: ἴσως γὰρ ἐξ ἢ ἑπτὰ τὸ πλεῖστον' ἡ δὲ
βλάστησις ὁμοία καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τρύπον. παρελ-
θουσῶν δὲ τούτων οὐκέτι εἰς μῆκος ἀλλ᾽ εἰς
πάχος ἡ αὔξησις τρέπεται.
Πᾶσι μὲν οὖν τοῖς δένδροις αἱ ᾿βλαστήσεις
φανεραί, μάλιστα δὲ τῇ ἐλάτῃ καὶ τῇ πεύκῃ διὰ
τὸ στοιχεῖν τὰ γόνατα καὶ ἐξ ἴσου τοὺς ὄζους
ἔχειν. ὥρα δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέμνεσθαι τὰ ξύλα
τότε διὰ τὸ λοπᾶν: ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις καιροῖς
οὐκ εὐπεριαίρετος ὁ φλοιός, ἀλλὰ καὶ περιαιρε-
θέντος μέλαν τὸ ξύλον γίνεται καὶ τῇ ὄψει χεῖρον"
ἐπεὶ καὶ πρός γε τὴν χρείαν οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ καὶ
1 About June.
5 ο[. 3. 72s 5. 5. Oslin, 16.27.
3 ἔγχλωρος con]. Coraés ; etxAwpos Ald.
4 διαλείποντα conj. St.; διαλείπουσαι Ald. H.
186
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. v. 1-3
first budding as a sort of joint, just as in the case of
the first budding. This happens about the end of
the month Skirrophorion.!
2(It is only at the time of this second budding that
the galls also are produced, both the white and the
black; the liquid forming them is mostly produced in
quantity at night, and, after swelling for one day
—except the part which is of resinous character—it
hardens if it is caught by the heat, and so cannot grow
any more; otherwise it would have grown greater in
bulk; wherefore in some trees the formation is not
larger than a bean. The black gall is for several
days of a pale green colour; then it swells and some-
times attains the size of an apple.)
Then, after an interval‘ of about fifteen days, the
tree for the third time puts on buds in the month
Hekatombaion ὅ ; but this growth continues for fewer
days than on either of the previous occasions, perhaps
for six or seven at most. However the formation of
the buds is as before and takes place in the same
manner. After this period there is no increase in
length, but the only increase is in thickness.
The periods of budding can be seen in all trees,
but especially in fir and silver-fir, because the joints
of these are in a regular series and have the knots
at even distances. It is then the season also for
cutting the timber, because the bark is being shed ° ;
for at other times the bark is not easy to strip off,
and moreover, if it is stripped off, the wood turns
black 7 and is inferior in appearance; for as to its
utility 8 this makes no difference, though the wood
5 About July.
6. χοπᾶν conj. Sch.; Aoway UMV; Array Ald.
Wef. Blin. 16.74:
8 ye conj. Sch.; τε Ald,
187
THEOPHRASTUS
\ \ “ a
ἰσχυρότερον, ἐὰν μετὰ τὴν πέπανσιν τῶν καρπῶν
τμηθῇ.
rn \ lod ’,
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἴδια τῶν προειρημένων δένδρων.
αἱ δὲ βλαστήσεις αἱ ἐπὶ Kuvi καὶ ᾿Αρκτούρῳ γινό-
Ν 7 \ \ \ ρ \ Pe Y
>
μεναι μετὰ τὴν ἐαρινὴν σχεδὸν κοιναὶ πάντων'
Μ \ “ > -“ ¢ te A ’
ἔνδηλοι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἡμέροις καὶ τούτων
΄ a Ἄν / ἐν." A ἈΞ ΟΡ “
μάλιστα συκῇ καὶ ἀμπέλῳ καὶ ροιᾷ καὶ ὅλως ὅσα
a ¢ ἂς Ἁ
εὐτραφῆ καὶ ὅπου χώρα τοιαύτη" δι’ ὃ καὶ τὴν
’ Jad / ’ \ / \
ἐπ᾽ ᾿Αρκτούρῳ πλείστην φασὶ γίνεσθαι περὶ Θετ-
, \ / “ \ ͵ \
ταλίαν καὶ Μακεδονίαν: ἅμα yap συμβαίνει καὶ
td
TO μετόπωρον καλὸν γίνεσθαι καὶ μακρόν, ὥστε
\ \ / / a ἔς
καὶ τὴν μαλακότητα συμβάλλεσθαι τοῦ ἀέρος.
’ \ \ 5, 3 / \ a7 id > “ ΟΝ
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ διὰ τοῦθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν αἰεὶ
\ 4 A \ ie ,
βλαστάνει τὰ δένδρα, ἢ καὶ μικρόν τινα διαλείπει
’
χρόνον.
᾿Αλλὰ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὰς ἐπιβλαστήσεις, ὥσπερ
” 4 Ἂ, \ ᾿ \ i 4 > ἣν fal
εἴρηται, κοινά, Ta δὲ περὶ Tas διαλείψεις ἀπὸ τῆς
, " a / » ᾽ SF
πρώτης ἴδια τῶν λεχθέντων. ἴδιον δ᾽ ἐνίοις
a / /
ὑπάρχει καὶ TO τῆς καλουμένης κάχρυος, οἷον
“ / \
τοῖς [τε] προειρημένοις" ἔχει yap Kat ἐλάτη Kal
“ ,
πεύκη καὶ δρῦς, καὶ ἔτι φίλυρα καὶ καρύα καὶ
΄ / A,
διοσβάλανος καὶ πίτυς. αὗται δὲ γίνονται δρυὶ
μὲν πρὸ τῆς βλαστήσεως ὑποφαινούσης τῆς
» a “ » > . \ / \
ἠρινῆς ὥρας. ἔστι δ᾽ ὡσπερεὶ κύησις φυλλικὴ
μεταξὺ πίπτουσα τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποιδήσεως καὶ
τῆς φυλλικῆς βλαστήσεως: τῇ δ᾽ ὄῃ ἐστὶ τοῦ
1 δένδρων conj. R. Const.; καρπῶν Ald. H.
2 of, 0,2. 1.10 fit a6 1S. ae ee see 15 0 Edin,
16. 98. 8 Cf, Ὁ...1..14. 1}. * ef, b.1. 4; Plin. 16. 30.
188
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. v. 3-5
is stronger if it is cut after the ripening of the
fruit.
Now what has been said is peculiar to the above-
mentioned trees.! ? But the buddings which take
place at the rising of the dog-star and at that of
Arcturus after the spring budding are common to
nearly all, though they may be most clearly seen in
cultivated trees, and, among these, especially in fig
vine pomegranate, and in general in all those that
are luxuriant in growth or are growing in rich soil.
Accordingly they say that the budding at the rising
of Arcturus is most considerable in Thessaly and
Macedonia? ; for it also happens that the autumn in
these countries is a fair and a long season; so that
the mildness of the climate alsocontributes. Indeed
it is for this reason, one may say, that in Egypt too
the trees are always budding, or at least that the
process is only suspended for quite a short time.
Now the facts as to the later buddings apply, as
has been said, to all trees alike; but those which
belong to the intervals after the first period of
budding are peculiar to those mentioned above.
Peculiar to some also is the growth of what are
called ‘winter buds,’* for instance in the above-
mentioned trees ; silver-fir fir and oak have them, and
also lime hazel chestnut and Aleppo pine. These
are found in the oak before the leaf-buds grow, when
the spring season is just beginning. This growth
consists of a sort of leaf-like formation,® which occurs
between the first swelling of the leaf-buds and the
time when they burst into leaf. In the sorb® it
5 ἐστι. . - φυλλικὴ : ἐστι conj. R. Const.; ὡσπερεὶ conj. Sch.;
ἔτι δὲ ὥσπερ ἣ κύησις φυλακὴ UAId.H.; φυλλικὴ mBas. ete.
5 τῇ δ᾽ bn ἐστὶ conj. W. (cf. the description of ὄη, 8. 12. 8):
τῇ δ᾽ ἰδιότητι Ald.
τὃς
THEOPHRASTUS
Ν \ /
μετοπώρου μετὰ THY φυλλοβολίαν εὐθὺς λιπαρά
τις καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπωδηκυῖα, καθαπερανεὶ μέλλουσα
βλαστάνειν, καὶ διαμένει τὸν χειμῶνα μέχρι τοῦ
“ «ς sats MM \ Ἂ » \ ta)
Hpos. ἡ δὲ Ἡρακλεωτικὴ μετὰ τὴν ἀποβολὴν τοῦ
καρποῦ φύει τὸ βοτρυῶδες ἡλίκον σκώληξ εὐμε-
/ 2 e. N / / / pay Lal ‘
γέθης, ἐξ ἑνὸς μίσχου πλείω δή, ἃ καλοῦσί τινες
ἰούλους. τούτων ἕκαστον ἐκ μικρῶν σύγκειται
μορίων φολιδωτῶν τῇ τάξει, καθάπερ οἱ στρόβιλοι
a \ ᾿
τῆς πεύκης, ὥστε μὴ ἀνομοίαν εἶναι τὴν ὄψιν
\ lal \
στροβίλῳ νέῳ καὶ YAWPO πλὴν προμηκέστερον
, / “-
καὶ σχεδὸν ἰσόπαχες διόλου. τοῦτο δὲ αὔξεται
τὸν χειμῶνα: (καὶ ἅμα τῷ ἦρι χάσκει τὰ φολι-
δωτὰ καὶ ξανθὰ γίνεται), καὶ τὸ μῆκος λαμβάνει
¢ \ “ 5
καὶ τριδάκτυλον: ὅταν δὲ τοῦ pos TO φύλλον
la) / a
βλαστάνῃ, ταῦτ᾽ ἀποπίπτει καὶ τὰ τοῦ καρύου
΄ ’,
καλυκώδη περικάρπια γίνεται συμμεμυκότα κατὰ
fa! a μέ
τοῦ μίσχου, τοσαῦτα ὅσα καὶ ἣν τὰ ἄνθη: τούτων
᾽ > e / / Ψ \ Ν n tA
δ᾽ ἐν ἑκάστῳ κάρυον ἕν. περὶ δὲ τῆς φιλύρας
”
ἐπισκεπτέον, καὶ El TL ἄλλο καχρυοφύόρον.
MI a a
VI. "Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν εὐαυξῆ τὰ δὲ δυσαυξῆ.
fel , 4 ΄,
εὐαυξῆ μὲν τά τε πάρυδρα, οἷον πτελέα πλάτανος
ys /
λεύκη αἴγειρος (Téa καί τοι περὶ ταύτης ἀμφισ-
βητοῦσί τινες ὡς δυσαυξοῦς" καὶ τῶν καρποφόρων
ἥν ,ὔ / a > / \ /
δὲ ἐλάτη πεύκη δρῦς. εὐαυξέστατον δὲ... μίλος
1 εὐθὺς λιπαρὰ Conj. Sch.; τις add. W.; εὐθὺς αἱ παρὰ τῆε U.
2 φύει conj. W.; φύεται Ald. *@encatkings. ‘efsds 308:
4 πλείω δὴ conj. Sch.; main UMVAI.; πλείονα U ?.
© Clad.) {0 55} ἃ
δ συμμεμυκότα κατὰ τοῦ μι: G evidently had a different
text; ? συμπεφυκότα W.
190
ENQUIRY” INTOPPEANTS; LE vsi5-vi.) 1
occurs in the autumn after the shedding of the
leaves, and has from the first a glistening look,! as
though swelling had taken place, just as if it were
about to burst into leaves; and it persists through
the winter till the spring. The filbert after casting
its fruit produces? its clustering growth,? which is
as large as a good-sized grub: several * of these grow
from one stalk, and some call them catkins. Each
of these is made up of small processes arranged
like scales, and resembles the cone of the fir, so that
its appearance is not unlike that of a young green
fir-cone, except that it is longer and almost of the
same thickness throughout. ‘This grows through the
winter (when spring comes, the scale-like processes
open and turn yellow) ; it grows to the length of three
fingers, but, when in spring the leaves are shooting,
it falls off, and the cup-like® fruit-cases of the nut
are formed, closed all down® the stalk and corre-
sponding? in number to the flowers; and in each ot
these is a single nut. The case of the lime and
of any other tree that produces winter-buds needs
further consideration.
Of the comparative rate of growth in trees, and of the length of
their roots.
VI. Some trees are quick-growing, some slow.
Quick-growing are those which grow by the waterside,
as elm plane abele black poplar willow; (however
some dispute about the last-named, and consider it
a slow grower :) and of fruit-bearing trees, silver-fir
fir oak. Quickest growing of all are. . .8 yew lakara
Ἴ ὅσα καὶ ἦν τὰ ἄνθη Conj. W.; ὅσα καὶ κατὰ ἄνθη Ald.
8 Lacuna in text (Sch.W.). The following list of trees also
appears to be in confusion, and includes some of both classes.
IQ)
THEOPHRASTUS
\ , \ » / ’
καὶ λάκαρα φηγὸς ἄρκευθος σφένδαμνος ὀστρυα
, , ΄ / ? / ,
Cuyia μελία κλήθρα πίτυς avdpadyAn κρανεία
/ > , Lal 9: > \ ’ ye 4
πύξος ἀχράς. καρποφορεῖ δ᾽ εὐθὺς ἐλάτη πεύκη
/ na
πίτυς, κἂν ὁπηλικονοῦν μέγεθος λάβωσιν.
Ἡ δὲ αὔξησις καὶ ἡ βλάστησις τῶν μὲν ἄλλων
\ ΄ a a a
ἄτακτος κατὰ τοὺς τόπους τῶν βλαστῶν, τῆς δ᾽
, \
ἐλάτης ὡρισμένη καὶ συνεχὴς Kal ὕστερον. ὅταν
lal / \ “ a
yap ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους τὰ πρῶτα σχισθῇ, πάλιν ἐξ
« / /
ἐκείνου ἡ ἑτέρα σχίσις γίνεται κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν
a ? a
τρόπον, Kal TOUT ἀεὶ ποιεῖ κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἐπι-
βλαστήσεις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐδ᾽ οἱ ὄζοι κατ᾽
\ , / ,
ἀλλήλους πλὴν ἐπί τινων ὀλίγων, οἷον κοτίνου
\ a
καὶ ἄλλων" ἔχει δὲ καὶ τῆδε διαφορὰν ἡ αὔξησις
“ ς ’, / ,
κοινῇ πάντων ὁμοίως ἡμέρων TE καὶ ἀγρίων" τὰ
μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρου τῶν βλαστῶν καὶ ἐκ
a , ΄ “
τῶν πλαγίων φύεται, καθώπερ ἄπιος ῥύόα συκῆ
x \ a lal
μύρρινος σχεδὸν τὰ πλεῖστα" τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρου
μὲν οὐκ ἀνίησιν ἐκ δὲ τῶν πλαγίων, καὶ αὐτὸ
al , “
προωθεῖται τὸ ὑπάρχον, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ὅλον στέ-
, lal
λεχος καὶ οἱ ἀκρεμόνες. συμβαίνει δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ
a A v4 a «ς “
τῆς Περσικῆς καρύας καὶ τῆς Ηρακλεωτικῆς καὶ
ἄλλων. ἁπάντων δὲ τῶν τοιούτων εἰς ἕν φύλλον
3 a ε , >a Nase ’
ἀποτελευτῶσιν οἱ βλαστοί, du’ ὃ Kal εὐλόγως οὐκ
Ν Ἁ
ἐπιβλαστάνει καὶ αὐξάνεται μὴ ἔχοντα ἀρχήν.
, \ » Ν a
(ὁμοία δὲ τρόπον τινὰ ἡ αὔξησις καὶ τοῦ σίτου"
1 kata... βλαστῶν conj. W.; κατὰ τοὺς τρόπους (corrected
to τόπους) καὶ βλαστούς U; MVP insert τοὺς before βλαστούς.
2 ἐκείνου .. . κατὰ conj. W.; ἐκείνου ἡ ἑτέρα σχίζεται τὰ ἴσο
καὶ UAId.
3 ἄλλων : ἐλάας W.; I suggest ἄλλων ἐλαῶν.
192
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vi. 1-3
(bird-cherry) Valonia oak Phoenician cedar maple
hop-hornbeam zygza manna-ash alder Aleppo pine
andrachne cornelian cherry box wild pear. But
silver-fir fir and Aleppo pine bear fruit from the very
first, whatever size they have attained.
While the growth and budding of most trees are
irregular as regards the position in which the buds
appear,! the growth and budding of the silver-fir
follow a regular rule, and its development afterwards
is also in a regular sequence. For, when the trunk
first divides, then again from the divided trunk the
second division? takes place in like manner, and so the
tree goes on with each fresh formation of buds. In
other trees not even the knots are opposite to one
another, except in some few cases, as wild olive and
others. Here too we find a difference in the
manner of growth which belongs to all trees alike,
both cultivated and wild: in some cases the growth
is from the top of the shoots and also from the side-
buds,* as in pear pomegranate fig myrtle and the
majority of trees, one may say: in some cases the
growth is not from the top, but only from the side-
buds, and the already existing part is pushed out ὃ
further, as is the whole trunk with the upper
branches. This occurs in the walnut and in the filbert
as wellas in other trees. In all such trees the buds end
in a single leaf®; wherefore it is reasonable that
they should not make fresh buds and growth from this
point, as they have no point of departure. (To a
certain extent the growth of corn is similar; for it
4 ἐκ τοῦ... πλαγίων : 2? ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρον καὶ ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων
βλαστῶν. cf. 8. 5. 1.
5.2.6. grows without dividing. cf. Plin. 16. 100. (of dif-
ferent trees).
® φύλλον perhaps conceals some other word.
193
THEOPHRASTUS
καὶ yap οὗτος ἀεὶ τῇ προώσει τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος
αὐξάνεται, κἂν κολοβωθῇ τὰ “φύλλα, καθάπερ ἐν
τοῖς ἐπιβοσκομένοις: πλὴν οὗτός γε οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ
πλαγίου παραφύει, καθάπερ ἔνια τῶν χεδροπῶν.)
αὕτη μὲν οὖν διαφορά τις ἂν εἴη βλαστήσεως
ἅμα καὶ αὐξήσεως.
Βαθύρριξα δὲ οὔ φασί τινες εἶναι τὰ ἄγρια διὰ
τὸ φύεσθαι πάντα ἀπὸ σπέρματος, οὐκ ἄγαν
ὀρθῶς λέγοντες. ἐνδέχεται γὰρ ὅταν ἐμβιώσῃ
πόρρω καθιέναι τὰς pitas: ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν λαχάνων
τὰ πολλὰ τοῦτο ποιεῖ, καίπερ “ἀσθενέστερα ὄ ὄντα
καὶ ἐναργῶς φυόμενα «ἐν; τῇ γῇ: βαθυρριξότατον
δ᾽ οὖν δοκεῖ τῶν “ἀγρίων εἶναι ἡ ἡ πρῖνος" ἐλάτη δὲ
καὶ πεύκη μετρίως, ἐπιπολαιότατον δὲ θραύπα-
λος καὶ κοκκυμηλέξα καὶ σποδιάς: αὕτη δ᾽ ἐστὶν
ὥσπερ ἀγρία κοκκυμηλέα. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ
ὀλιγόρριξα' ὁ δὲ θραύπαλος πολύρριξζον. συμ-
βαίνει δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς μὴ κατὰ βάθους ἔ ἔχουσι,
καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐλάτῃ καὶ πεύκῃ, προρρίζοις ὑπὸ
τῶν πνευμάτων ἐκπίπτειν.
Ot μὲν οὖν περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν οὕτω λέγουσιν». οἱ
δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς Ἴδης βαθυρριζότερον ἐλάτην δρυὸς ἀλλ᾽
ἐλάττους ἔχειν καὶ εὐθυρριζοτέραν εἶναι: βαθυρρι-
ζότατον δὲ καὶ τὴν κοκκυμηλέαν καὶ τὴν ~Hpa-
κλεωτικήν, τὰς δὲ ῥίξας λεπτὰς καὶ ἰσχυρὰς τὴν
Ἡρακλεωτικήν, τὴν δὲ κοκκυμηλέαν πολύρριζον,
ἄμφω δ᾽ ἐμβιῶναι δεῖν: δυσώλεθρον δὲ τὴν
κοκκυμηλέαν. ἐπιπολῆς δὲ σφένδαμνον καὶ
1 τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος conj. Sch. from α ; τῇ ὑπαρχούσῃ Ald.
2 οὐδ᾽ : Ῥ οὐκ W. 3 Plin. 16. 127.
4 ἐμβιώσῃ: Chih. Ba) ΡΝ Beak
194
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vi. 3-5
also regularly increases by pushing forward of the
already existing part,! evenif the leaves are mutilated,
as in corn which is bitten down by animals. Corn
however does not? make side-growths, as some
leguminous plants do.) Here then we may find a
difference which occurs both in the making of buds
and in the making of fresh growth.
3Some say that wild trees are not deep rooting,
because they all grow from seed; but this is not a
very accurate statement. For it is possible that,
when they are well established,4 they may send
their roots down far; in fact even most pot-herbs
do this, though these are not so strong as trees, and
are undoubtedly grown from seed planted in the
ground.®> The kermes-oak however seems to be the
deepest rooting of wild trees; silver-fir and fir are
only moderately so, and shallowest are joint-fir pluin
bullace (which is a sort of wild plum). The last
two also have few roots, while joint-fir has many.
Trees which do not root deep,® and especially silver-
fir and fir, are liable to be rooted up by winds.
So the Arcadians say. But the people who live
near Mount Ida say that the silver fir is deeper
rooting’ than the oak, and has straighter roots,
though they are fewer. Also that those which have
the deepest roots are plum and filbert, the latter
having strong slender roots, the former having
many : but they add that both trees must be well
established to acquire these characters; also that
plum is very tenacious of life. Maple, they say,
5 ἐναργῶς... γῇ: soG; évadd. W.
ὁ βάθους Conj. Sch.; βάθος Ald.
7 βαθορριζότερον con}. W.; βαθυρριζότατον UMVAId.
8 Proverbial for its hold on the ground ; cf. Verg. Aen. 4.
441 foll.
195
THEOPHRASTUS
’ , \ \ / ’ \ 7 U
ὀλίγας" τὴν δὲ μελίαν πλείους καὶ εἶναι πυκνόρ-
ρίζον καὶ βαθύρριζον. ἐπιπολῆς δὲ καὶ ἄρκευθον
\ μ \ / \ \ e val
καὶ κέδρον: καὶ κλήθρας λεπτὰς Kal ὁμαλεῖς:
Μ ἌΝ , x Coe ieee | / \
ἔτι δ᾽ ὀξύην: καὶ yap τοῦτ᾽ ἐπιπολαιόρριζον καὶ
b) / \ \ ” 2 , \ ?
ὀλιγόρριζον. τὴν δὲ οὔαν ἐπιπολαίους μὲν ἰσχυ-
us δὲ καὶ ( Lo £0 ήθει δὲ
ρὰς δὲ καὶ παχείας καὶ δυσωλέθρους πλήθει δὲ
’ / \ 9 \ > /
μετρίας. βαθύρριξα μὲν οὖν καὶ οὐ βαθύρριξα
rn? /
τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστίν.
VII. ᾿Αποκοπέντος δὲ τοῦ στελέχους τὰ μὲν
ἄλλα πάνθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν παραβλαστάνει, πλὴν ἐὰν
/ al
ai ῥίζαι πρότερον τύχωσι πεπονηκυΐαι' πεύκη
δὲ καὶ ἐλάτη τελέως ἐκ ῥιζῶν αὐτοετεῖς αὐαίνονται
Ν \ \ ” ? a / Vee /
Kal ἐὰν TO ἄκρον ἐπικοπῆ. συμβαίνει δὲ ἴδιόν
τι περὶ τὴν ἐλάτην" ὅταν γὰρ κοπῇ ἢ κολουσθῇ
δ x / x \ ” \ \ \ a
ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἢ καὶ ἄλλου τινὸς περὶ TO λεῖον
τοῦ στελέχους---ἔχει γὰρ μέχρι τινὸς λεῖον καὶ
ἄοζον καὶ ὁμαλὸν ἱκανὸν ἵστῳ πλοίου --- περι-
φύεται μικρόν, ὑποδεέστερον εἰς ὕψος, καὶ κα-
“ ς \ ” € \ ? / an \
λοῦσιν of μὲν ἄμφαυξιν οἱ δὲ ἀμφίφυαν, τῷ μὲν
Ἁ / aA \ , ¢ ΄
χρώματι μέλαν τῇ δὲ σκληρότητι ὑπερβάλλον,
ἐξ οὗ τοὺς κρατῆρας ποιοῦσιν οἱ περὶ ApKadiay:
τὸ δὲ πάχος οἷον ἂν τύχῃ τὸ δένδρον, ὅσῳπερ
, /
ἂν ἰσχυρότερον καὶ ἐγχυλότερον ἢ παχύτερον.
συμβαίνει δὲ κἀκεῖνο ἴδιον ἐν ταὐτῷ τούτῳ περὶ
σφ. καὶ ὀλίγας conj. W.; σφ. κατ᾽ ὀλίγον ΌὌΜΨΥ Ald.
i.e. not very fibrous.
cf. Hdt. 6. 37, and the proverb πίτυος τρόπον ἐκτρίβεσθαι.
ὅμαλον conj. Scal.; ὅμοιον Ald.
5 ἱκανὸν ἵστῳ πλοίον conj. W.; ἢ καὶ ἡλίκον πλεῖον Ald.; sc
UH, but with πλοῖον.
196
~ oO wd
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 111. νι. ς νι. 2
has shallow roots and few of them!; but manna-ash
has more and they are thickly matted and run
deep; Phoenician cedar and priekly cedar, they say,
have shallow roots, those of alder are slender and
‘plain,’ 2 as also are those of beech; for this too has
few roots, and they are near the surface. Sorb, they
say, has its roots near the surface, but they are
strong and thick and hard to kill, though not very
numerous. Such are the trees which are or are
not deep-rooting.
Of the effects of cutting down the whole or part of a tree.
VII. Almost all trees shoot from the side if the
trunk is cut down, unless the roots have previously
been injured; but fir and silver-fir wither away 3
completely from the roots within the year, if merely
the top has been cut off. And there is a peculiar
thing about the silver-fir; when it is topped or
broken off short by wind or some other cause
affecting the smooth part of the trunk—for up toa
certain height the trunk is smooth knotless and
plain ὁ (and so suitable for making a ship’s mast °),—
a certain amount of new growth forms round it,
which does not however grow much vertically ; and
this is called by some amphauxis® and by others
amphiphya® ; it is black in colour and exceedingly
hard, and the Arcadians make their mixing-bowls
out of it; the thickness is in proportion‘ to the tree,
according as that is more or less vigorous and sappy,
or again according to its thickness. There® is this
peculiarity too in the silver-fir in the same connexion ;
6 Two words meaning ‘ growth about,’ 1.6. callus.
7 οἷον ἂν conj. W.; οἷον ἐὰν Ald.; ὅσον ἂν conj. Scal.
ΒΡ) 167 123;
197
THEOPHRASTUS
A / .“ \ / ‘ yy v
τὴν ἐλάτην" ὅταν μὲν yap τις τοὺς ὄζους ἅπαντας
᾽ \ > / \ »Μ > / /
ἀφελὼν ἀποκόψῃ TO ἄκρον, ἀποθνήσκει ταχέως"
cd \ \ / \ \ \ “ ᾽ 7
ὅταν δὲ τὰ κατωτέρω τὰ κατὰ τὸ λεῖον ἀφέλῃ,
al \ / \ aA \ \ ς ”
ζῇ τὸ κατάλοιπον, περὶ ὃ δὴ Kal ἡ ἄμφαυξις
/ fol \ Qn ev lol ” - \
φύεται. ζῇ δὲ δῆλον OTL τῷ ἔγχυλον εἶναι Kal
’ 7 » / =) \ \ lal
χλωρόν, εἴπερ ἀπαράβλαστον. ἀλλὰ yap τοῦτο
n /
μὲν ἴδιον τῆς ἐλάτης.
\ » / \
Φέρει δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα TOV TE καρπὸν τὸν
a \ b) > x , lal
ἑαυτῶν καὶ τὰ KAT ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπιγινόμενα ταῦτα,
/ \ \ \ ei
φύλλον ἄνθος βλαστόν' τὰ δὲ καὶ βρύον ἢ ἕλικα"
\ \ , / Ὁ / , ,
Ta δὲ πλείω, καθάπερ ἥ TE TTEAEA TOV τε βότρυν
καὶ τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτο, καὶ συκῆ καὶ τὰ ἐρινὰ
/ \ a “
τὰ προαποπίπτοντα καὶ εἴ τινες ἄρα τῶν συκῶν
’ a 7 δὲ ΄ \ \
ὀλυνθοφοροῦσιν: ἴσως δὲ τρόπον τινὰ καρπὸς
᾽ « \ a
οὗτος. ἀλλ᾽ ἡ Ἡρακλεωτικὴ Kapva Tov ἴουλον
\ ς na ‘ a / e \ /
Kal ἡ πρῖνος Tov φοινικοῦν κόκκον ἡ δὲ δάφνη
Ν / , x ANP ζς / > \
τὸ βότρυον. φέρει μὲν καὶ ἡ καρποφόρος, εἰ μὴ
Ν “ > 4 / > an > 5 > \
καὶ πᾶσα ἀλλὰ TOL γένος TL αὑτῆς, OV μὴν ἀλλὰ
/ CS ἃ ὃ} \ ” 7 “
πλέον ἡ ἄκαρπος, ἣν δὴ καὶ ἄρρενά τινες καλοῦ-
᾽ 4 \ ,
σιν. GAN ἡ πεύκη τὸν προαποπίπτοντα KUT-
ταρον.
-“ \ / -“ ,
Πλεῖστα δὲ πάντων ἡ δρῦς παρὰ τὸν καρπόν,
, \ \
οἷον τήν τε κηκίδα τὴν μικρὰν Kal THY ἑτέραν
1 2,6. and so does not, like other trees under like treat-
ment, put its strength into these. cf. C.P. 5.17. 4.
2 ἑαυτῶν conj. Sch. from G; αὐτὸν Ald.
3 The leaf-gall, cf. 2. 8. 3; ὃ. 14. 1. For τοῦτο cf. 3. 18. 11;
Ae 7:1. 4 Tali. rOnst. πῆς abs δ. 1. 8:
5 τινὰ καρπὸς conj. Sch.; τινὰ ἄκαρπος UAId.
198
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vir. 2-4
when, after taking off all the branches, one cuts off
the top, it soon dies; yet, when one takes off the
lower parts, those about the smooth portion of the
trunk, what is left survives, and it is on this part
that the amphauzis forms. And plainly the reason
why the tree survives is that it is sappy and green
because it has no side-growths.!_ Now this is peculiar
to the silver-fir.
Of other things borne by trees besides their leaves flowers and
Sruit.
Now, while other trees bear merely their own ”
fruit and the obvious parts which form annually, to
wit, leaf flower and bud, some bear also catkins or
tendrils, and some produce other things as well, for
instance the elm its ‘cluster’ and the familiar bag-
like thing,® the fig both the immature figs which drop
off and (in some kinds) the untimely figs +—though
perhaps in a sense® these should be reckoned as
fruit. Again filbert produces its catkin,® kermes-oak
its scarlet ‘berry,’? and bay its ‘cluster..® The
fruit-bearing sort of bay also produces this, or at all
events? one kind certainly does so; however the
sterile kind, which some call the ‘male,’ produces
it in greater quantity. The fir again bears its ‘tuft,’ 1°
which drops off.
11 The oak however bears more things besides 12 its
fruit than any other tree; as the small gall 18 and its
δ 01:3: 5: 8: 9: δ: 5:
7 α[. 3.16.1. 1.6. the kermes gall (whence Eng. ‘crimson’).
8 βότρυον UMVAlId., supported by G. and Plin. 16. 120;
but some editors read βρύον on the strength of 3. 11. 4. and
GPs 2s Al 4. 9 ἀλλά τοι con]. W.3; ἀλλὰ καὶ Ald.
5:5: ΒΝ 1k ts 16.28: t
12 παρὰ conj. W., cf. §6; φέρει Ald. ἸΣ ΟΠ: 9. 5. Ὁ:
199
THEOPHRASTUS
τὴν πιττώδη μέλαιναν. ἔτι δὲ συκαμινῶδες ἄλλο
τῇ “μορφῇ πλὴν σκληρὸν καὶ δυσκάτακτον,
σπάνιον δὲ τοῦτο: καὶ ἕτερον αἰδοιώδη σχέσιν
ἔχον, τέλειούμενον δ᾽ ἔτι σκληρὸν κατὰ τὴν
ἐπανάστασιν καὶ τετρυπημένον' προσεμφερὲς
τρόπον τινὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ ταύρου κεφαλῇ, περι-
καταγνύμενον δὲ ἔνδοθεν “ἔχει πυρῆνος ἐλάας
ἰσοφυές. φύει δὲ καὶ τὸν ὑπ᾽ ἐνίων καλούμενον
πῖλον' τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶ σφαιρίον ἐριῶδες μαλακὸν
περὶ πυρήνιον σκληρότερον πεφυκός, ᾧ χρῶνται
πρὸς τοὺς λύχνους" καίεται γὰρ καλῶς, ὥσπερ
καὶ ἡ μέλαινα κηκίς. φύει δὲ καὶ ἕτερον σφαιρίον
κόμην ἔχον, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἀχρεῖον, κατὰ δὲ τὴν
ἐαρινὴν ὥραν ἐπίβαπτον χυλῷ μελιτηρῷ καὶ κατὰ
τὴν ἁφὴν καὶ κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν.
“Ὁ e
Ila ραφύει δ᾽ ἐνδοτέρω τῆς τῶν ῥαβδῶν μασχα-
λίδος ἕτερον σφαιρίον ἄμισχον ἢ καὶ κοιλόμισχον
ἴδιον καὶ ποικίλον" τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἐπανεστηκότας
ὀμφαλοὺς ἐπιλεύκους ἢ ἐπεστιγμένους ἔ EXEL μέλα-
vas τὸ δ᾽ ἀνὰ μέσον κοκκοβαφὲς καὶ λαμπρόν'
ἀνοιγόμενον δ᾽ ἐστὶ μέλαν καὶ ἐπίσαπρον. σπάνιον
δὲ παραφύει καὶ δλιθάριον κισσηροειδὲς ἐπὶ
πλεῖον. ἔτι δ᾽ ἄλλο τούτου σπανιαίτερον φυλλι-
κὸν συμπεπιλημένον πρόμηκες σφαιρίον. ἐπὶ δὲ
τοῦ φύλλου φύει κατὰ τὴν ῥάχιν σφαιρίον λευκὸν
διαυγὲς ὑδατῶδες, ὅταν ἁπαλὸν ἢ" τοῦτο δὲ καὶ
} πυρῆνος ἐλάας ἰσοφυὲς icon). W.; πυρῆνος ἐλαίᾳ εἰρουφυὴν
UMV ; : πυρῆνα ἐλαία εἰρουφύην Ald.
2 rep! πυρήνιον σκληρότερον I conj. ; περὶ πυρηνίου σκληρότητα
U; περὶ πυρηνίου σκληρότερον Μ ; περιπυρηνίου σκληρότερον
VAld. Υ. prints the reading of U. For πῖλος see Index.
200
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vit. 4-5
other black resinous gall. Again it has another
growth, like a mulberry in shape, but hard and
dificult to break; this however is not common. It
has also another growth like the penis in shape,
which, when it is further developed, makes a hard
prominence and has a hole through it. This to a
certain extent resembles also a bull’s head, but, when
split open, it contains inside a thing shaped like the
stone of an olive.!. The oak also produces what some
call the ‘ball’; this is a soft woolly spherical object
enclosing a small stone which is harder,*? and men
use it for their lamps; for it burns well, as does the
black gall. The oak also produces another hairy
ball, which is generally useless, but in the spring
season it is covered with a juice which is like honey
both to touch and taste.
3 Further the oak produces right inside the axil4
of the branches another ball with no stalk or else ὅ
a hollow one; this is peculiar and of various colours :
for the knobs which arise on it are whitish or black
and spotted,® while the part between these is brilliant
scarlet; but, when it is opened, it is black and
rotten.’ It also occasionally produces a small stone
which more or less resembles pumice-stone ; also, less
commonly, there is a leaf-like ball, which is oblong
and of close texture. Further the oak produces on the
rib of the leaf a white transparent ball, which is
watery, when it is young; and this sometimes con-
5 Plin: 10.929:
4 ἐνδοτέρω. .. μασχαλίδος conj. R. Const. ; ἐντεριώνης τῶν
ῥοπῶν μασχαλίδας UAld. Plin., l.c., gignunt et alae ramorum
eius pilulas. 5 ἢ ins. St.
6 Plin., l.c., nigra varietate dispersa.
7 ἐπίσαπρον ; Plin., l.c., has apertis amara inanitas est
whence ἐπίπικρον conj. Sch.
201
THEOPHRASTUS
/ > eed > δὸ v / δὲ
μύας ἐνίοτε ἐνδὸν ἰσχει. τελειούμενον OE σκλὴ
/ a ’ ,
ρύνεται κηκίδος μικρᾶς λείας τρόπον.
la) lal Ἁ
‘H μὲν οὖν δρῦς τοσαῦτα φέρει παρὰ τὸν
καρπόν. οἱ γὰρ μύκητες ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν καὶ
παρὰ τὰς ῥίζας φυόμενοι κοινοὶ καὶ ἑτέρων εἰσίν.
e / \ \ e ees \ \ “ /
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ ἰξία: Kal yap αὕτη φύεται
>
καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις: ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἧττον, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη,
πλειστοφύρον ἐστίν" εἰ δέ γε δὴ καθ᾽ ᾿Ησίοδον
ad /
φέρει μέλι Kal μελίττας, ἔτι μᾶλλον: φαίνεται δ᾽
4 \ ς / a \ ᾽ a ae 2
οὖν καὶ ὁ μελιτώδης οὗτος χυλὸς ἐκ TOD ἀέρος
“ον / / / \ \ \ oa
ἐπὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα προσίζειν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ ὅταν
κατακαυθῇ γίνεσθαι λίτρον ἐξ αὐτῆς. ταῦτα
“ /
μὲν οὖν ἴδια τῆς δρυός.
VIL. Πάντων δέ, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, τῶν δένδρων
ὡς καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γένος λαβεῖν διαφοραὶ πλείους
Μὰ e \ ‘ a τ a Ἂν; a \
εἰσίν: ἡ μὲν κοινὴ πᾶσιν, 7 διαιροῦσι TO θῆλυ Kal
΄
τὸ ἄρρεν, ὧν τὸ μὲν καρποφύρον τὸ δὲ ἄκαρπον
> , ε Ν vy , Ν A
ἐπί τινων. ἐν ols δὲ ἄμφω καρποφόρα τὸ θῆλυ
,
καλλικαρπότερον καὶ πολυκαρπότερον: πλὴν
ὅσοι ταῦτα καλοῦσιν ἄρρενα, καλοῦσι γάρ τινες.
/ > e , \ \ « \
παραπλησία δ᾽ ἡ τοιαύτη διαφορὰ καὶ ὡς τὸ
ἥμερον διήρηται πρὸς τὸ ἄγριον. ἑτέρα δὲ κατ᾽
a n e fal
εἶδος αὐτῶν τῶν ὁμογενῶν: ὑπὲρ ὧν λεκτέον ἅμα
’ ’ lal
συνεμφαίνοντας καὶ τὰς ἰδίας μορφὰς τῶν μὴ
φανερῶν καὶ γνωρίμων.
Plin<16; 91]: 2 Hes. Op. 233.
* Plin, 16. 16, 4 λεκτέον add. Sch.
202
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, ITI. vir. 5-vist. 1
tains flies: but as it develops, it becomes hard, like a
small smooth gall.
Such are the growths which the oak produces as
well as its fruit. For as for the fungi! which grow
from the roots or beside them, these occur also
in other trees. So too with the oak-mistletoe ;
for this grows on other trees also. However, apart
from that, the oak, as was said, produces more things
than any other tree; and all the more so if, as
Hesiod? says, it produces honey and even bees;
however, the truth appears to be that this honey-like
juice comes from the air and settles on this more
than on other trees. They say also that, when the
oak is burnt, nitre is produced from it. Such are
the things peculiar to the oak.
Of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in trees: the oak as an example of
this and other differences.
VIII. 3 Taking, as was said, all trees according to
their kinds, we find a number of differences. Com-
mon to them all is that by which men distinguish
the ‘male’ and the ‘female,’ the latter being fruit-
bearing, the former barren in some kinds. In those
kinds in which both forms are fruit-bearing the
‘female’ has fairer and more abundant fruit; how-
ever some call these the ‘male’ trees—for there
are those who actually thus invert the names.
This difference is of the same character as that
which distinguishes the cultivated from the wild tree,
while other differences distinguish different forms of
the same kind; and these we must discuss,* at the
same time indicating the peculiar forms, where these
are not® obvious and easy to recognise.
5 μὴ conj. St.; μήτε Ald. H.
203
2
THEOPHRASTUS
\ \ , \ a
Apvos δὴ γένη---ταύτην yap μάλιστα διαιροῦσι"
\ / ¢ a
καὶ ἔνιοί γε εὐθὺς τὴν μὲν ἥμερον καλοῦσι τὴν δ᾽
7 lal a an nr
ἀγρίαν οὐ τῇ γλυκύτητι τοῦ καρποῦ διαιροῦντες"
/ e a “
ἐπεὶ γλυκύτατός γε ὁ τῆς φηγοῦ, ταύτην δ᾽
> / ἴω > X A n > al >
ayplay ποιοῦσιν: ἀλλὰ τῷ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἐργα-
/ / \ Ν ΄ ΝΜ /
σίμοις φύεσθαι καὶ τὸ ξύλον ἔχειν λειότερον,
\ \ x a -
τὴν δὲ φηγὸν τραχὺ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὀρεινοῖς --- γένη
μὲν οὖν οἱ μὲν τέτταρα ποιοῦσιν οἱ δὲ πέντε.
΄ ᾽ a ’
διαλλάττουσι δ᾽ ἔνια τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, οἷον τὴν τὰς
/ / e \ ¢ / na ΄
γλυκείας φέρουσαν οἱ μὲν ἡμερίδα καλοῦντες οἱ
9 33 , ς , \ N > JS eae ie ¢ ’
δ᾽ ἐτυμόδρυν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλων. ὡς ὃ
2 € \ \ Ὑ “ 7)? 9 \ \ ”
οὗν οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην διαιροῦσι, τάδ᾽ ἐστὶ τὰ εἴδη"
ἡμερὶς αἰγίλωψ πλατύφυλλος φηγὸς ἁλίφλοιος:
e \ » / “ / \ /
οἱ δὲ εὐθύφλοιον καλοῦσιν. κάρπιμα μὲν TavTaA:
a a a »
γλυκύτατα δὲ Ta THs φηγοῦ, καθάπερ εἴρηται,
\ aA a
καὶ δεύτερον TA τῆς ἡμερίδος, ἔπειτα τῆς πλατυ-
7
φύλλου, καὶ τέταρτον ἡ ἁλίφλοιος, ἔσχατον δὲ
\ L ς ΣΥΝ > - \
καὶ πικρότατον ἡ αἰγίλωψ. οὐχ ἅπασαι δὲ
a > a / > ’ ’ / Ν /
γλυκεῖαι EV τοῖς γένεσιν ἀλλ EVIOTE καὶ πικραί,
/ «ς / / \ \ r
καθάπερ ἡ φηγός. διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς
fal \ lal
μεγέθεσι καὶ τοῖς σχήμασι Kal τοῖς χρώμασι
a v ae! “ ἊΝ \
τῶν βαλανων. ἴδιον δὲ ἔχουσιν ἥ τε φηγὸς Kal
\
ἡ ἁλίφλοιος: ἀμφότεραι yap παραλιθάζουσιν ἐν
τοῖς ἄρρεσι καλουμένοις ἐξ ἄκρων τῶν βαλάνων
« / € \ \ A / δ \ \
ἑκατέρωθεν, αἱ μὲν πρὸς τῷ κελύφει αἱ δὲ πρὸς
1 Plin. 16. 16 and 17.
2 See Index, δρῦς and ἡμερίς. ἡμερίς, lit. ‘cultivated oak.’
* Phin. 16:20;
204
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vu. 2-3
1Take then the various kinds of oak; for in this
tree men recognise more differences than in any
other. Some simply speak of a cultivated and a wild
kind, not recognising any distinction made by the
sweetness of the fruit; (for sweetest is that of the
kind called Valonia oak, and this they make the wild
kind), but distinguishing the cultivated kind by its
growing more commonly on tilled land and having
smoother timber, while the Valonia oak has rough
wood and grows in mountain districts. Thus some
make four kinds, others five. They also in some
cases vary as to the names assigned; thus the kind
which bears sweet fruit is called by some hemeris,
by others ‘true oak.’ So too with other kinds.
However, to take the classification given by the
people of Mount Ida, these” are the kinds: hemeris
(gall-oak), aigilops (Turkey-oak), ‘broad-leaved’ oak
(scrub oak), Valonia oak, sea-bark oak, which some
call ‘straight-barked’ oak. 35.411] these bear fruit ;
but the fruits of Valonia oak are the sweetest, as has
been said ; second to these those of hemeris (gall-oak),
third those of the ‘broad-leaved’ oak (scrub oak),
fourth sea-bark oak, and last aigilops (Turkey-
oak), whose fruits are very bitter. * However the
fruit is not always sweet in the kinds specified as
such®; sometimes it is bitter, that of the Valonia oak
for instance. There are also differences in the size
shape and colour of the acorns. Those of Valonia
oak and sea-bark oak are peculiar; in both of these
kinds on what are called the ‘male’ trees the acorns
become stony at one end or the other; in one kind
this hardening takes place in the end which is
4 Plin. 16. 19-21.
5 οὐχ. -. ἐνίοτε conj. W.; text defective in Ald.H.
205
THEOPHRASTUS
αὐτῇ τῇ σαρκί. δι’ ὃ καὶ ἀφαιρεθέντων ὅμοια
γίνεται κοιλώματα τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων.
Διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις καὶ τοῖς στελέ-
χεσι καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις καὶ τῇ ὅλῃ "μορφῇ. ἡ μὲν
γὰρ ἡμερὶς οὐκ ὀρθοφυὴς οὐδὲ λεία οὐδὲ μακρά:
περίκομος γὰρ ἡ φυτεία καὶ ἐπεστραμμένη καὶ
πολυμάσχαλος, ὥστε ὀζώδη καὶ βραχεῖαν γίνε-
σθαι: τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἰσχυρὸν μὲν ἀσθενέστερον δὲ
τῆς φηγοῦ: τοῦτο γὰρ ic υρότατον καὶ ἀσαπέ-
στατον. οὐκ ὀρθοφυὴς δὲ οὐδ᾽ αὕτη ἀλλ᾽ ἧττον
ἔτι. τῆς ἡμερίδος, τὸ δὲ στέλεχος παχύτατον, ὥστε
καὶ τὴν ὅλην μορφὴν βραχεῖαν εἶναι" καὶ γὰρ
ἡ φυτεία περίκομος καὶ ταύτῃ καὶ οὐκ εἰς ὀρθόν.
ἡ δὲ αἰγίλωψ ὀρθοφυέστατον καὶ ὑψηλότατον
καὶ λειότατον καὶ τὸ ξύλον εἰς μῆκος ἰσχυρότατον.
οὐ φύεται δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐργασίμοις ἢ σπανίως.
Ἢ δὲ TRATUPUAROS δεύτερον ὀρθοφυΐᾳ καὶ
μήκει, πρὸς δὲ τὴν χρείαν τὴν οἰκοδομικὴν χες,
ριστον μετὰ τὴν ἁλίφλοιον, φαῦλον δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸ
καίειν καὶ ἀνθρακεύειν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁλι-
φλοίου, καὶ θριπηδέστατον. μετ᾽ ἐκείνην" ἡ γὰρ
ἁλίφλοιος παχὺ μὲν ἔχει τὸ στέλεχος χαῦνον δὲ
καὶ κοῖλον ἐὰν ἔχῃ πώχος ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ, δι᾽
ὃ καὶ ἀχρεῖον εἰς τὰς οἰκοδομάς" ἔτι δὲ σήπεται
τάχιστα" καὶ γὰρ ἔνυγρόν ἐστι τὸ δένδρον" δι᾽ ὃ
καὶ κοίλη γίνεται. φασὶ δέ τίνες οὐδ᾽ ee
εἶναι μόνῃ. λέγουσιν ὡς καὶ κεραυνοβλῆτες
αὗται μόναι γίνονται καίπερ ὕψος οὐκ ἔχουσαι
1 fe. at the ‘top’ end; πρὸς : ? ἐν, πρὸς being repeated by
mistake.
2 ζῴων MSS.; aay conj. Palm. 3 Plin. 16, 22.
206
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vin. 3-5
attached to the cup, in the other in the flesh itself.
Wherefore, when the cups are taken off, we find a
cavity like the visceral cavities in animals.?
3 There are also differences in leaves trunk timber
and general appearance. Hemeris (gall-oak) is not
straight-growing nor smooth nor tall, for its growth
is very leafy * and twisted, with many side-branches,
so that it makes a low much-branched tree : its timber
is strong, but not so strong as that of the Valonia
oak, for that is the strongest and the least liable to
rot. This ὃ kind too is not straight-growing, even less
so than the hemeris (gall-oak), but the trunk is very
thick, so that the whole appearance is stunted; for
in growth this kind too is very leafy ὁ and not erect.
The aigilops (Turkey oak) is the straightest growing
and also the tallest and smoothest, and its wood, cut
lengthways, is the strongest. It does not grow on
tilled land, or very rarely.
The ‘ broad-leaved ’ oak (scrub oak) ® comes second
as to straightness of growth and length of timber to
be got from it, but for use in building it is the worst
next after the sea-bark oak, and it is even poor wood
for burning and making charcoal, as is also that of
the sea-bark oak, and next after this kind it is the
most worm-eaten. For the sea-bark oak has a thick
trunk, but it is generally spongy and hollow when
it is thick; wherefore it is useless for building.
Moreover it rots very quickly, for the tree contains
much moisture; and that is why it also becomes
hollow ; and some say that it is the only? oak which
has no heart. And some of the Aeolians say that
these are the only oaks which are struck by light-
45,6. of bushy habit. 5 αὕτη conj. Sch.; αὐτὴ UAld.
Plin. 16. 23 and 24. 7 μόνῃ conj. St.; μόνην Ald. H.
207
THEOPHRASTUS
A > / / > \ \ \ e \ nA
τῶν Αἰολέων τινές, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰ ἱερὰ χρῶνται
a / Ν Ν Φ ἣν / \ \
τοῖς ξύλοις. κατὰ μὲν οὖν τὰ ξύλα καὶ τὰς
“ \ > / ς /
ὅλας μορφὰς ἐν τούτοις αἱ διαφοραί.
/
Κηκίδας δὲ πάντα φέρει τὰ γένη, μόνη δὲ εἰς
τὰ δέρματα χρησίμην ἡ ἡμερίς. ἡ δὲ τῆς αἰγί-
λωπος καὶ τῆς πλατυφύλλου τῇ μὲν ὄψει παρο-
a a / \ a
pola TH τῆς ἡμερίδος, πλὴν λειοτέρα, ἀχρεῖος δέ.
\ /
φέρει καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν τὴν μέλαιναν ἡ τὰ ἔρια
“ /
βάπτουσιν. ὃ δὲ καλοῦσί τινες φάσκον ὅμοιον
al « ’ ς dele / / \ \
τοῖς ῥακίοις ἡ αὐἰγίλωψ' μόνη φέρει πολιὸν καὶ
\ a
τραχύ' Kal yap πηχυαῖον κατακρεμάννυται,
/ >] / / /
καθάπερ τρύχος ὀθονίου μακρόν. φύεται δὲ
τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ φλοιοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς κορύνης
δ “ ᾽ tal
ὅθεν ἡ βάλανος, οὐδ᾽ ἐξ ὀφθαλμοῦ ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ
lal / b) ς 7
πλαγίου τῶν ἄνωθεν ὄζων. ἡ δ᾽ ἁλίφλοιος ἐπί-
an / 4
μέλαν τοῦτο φύει καὶ βραχύ.
« \ φ > a ” “ a e
Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῆς Ἴδης οὕτως διαιροῦσιν. οἱ
/ a
δὲ περὶ Μακεδονίαν τέτταρα γένη ποιοῦσιν,
/
ἐτυμόδρυν ἣ Tas γλυκείας, πλατύφυλλον ἣ τὰς
ἃ \ 4
πικράς, φηγὸν ἣ τὰς στρογγύλας, ἄσπριν" ταύτην
Ν « \ ” “. € x a x /
δὲ of μὲν ἄκαρπον ὅλως οἱ δὲ φαῦλον τὸν καρπόν,
΄σ \ 2 , “ \ Cur \ /
ὥστε μηδὲν ἐσθίειν ζῶον πλὴν ὑός, καὶ ταύτην
“ δ. Κλ A, \ \ \ /
ὅταν ἑτέραν μὴ ἔχῃ" καὶ τὰ πολλὰ λαμβάνεσθαι
\ \
mepixeparaia. μοχθηρὰ δὲ καὶ τὰ ξύλα: πελε-
1 Plin. 16. 26.
2 φάσκον... . ῥακίοις conj. Sch. (ῥακίοις Salm.) : φάσκος ὅμοιος
τοῖς βραχείοις UP, ; φάσκον ὁμοίως τοῖς βραγχίοις Ald.H. Plin
16. 33, cf. 12. 108; Diosc. 1. 20; Hesych. 5.υ. φάσπκος.
3 τραχὺ conj. W.; βραχὺ UP. * xoptyns. cf. 3. 5. 1.
208
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vit. 5-7
ning, although they are not lofty; nor do they use
the wood for their sacrifices. Such then are the
differences as to timber and general appearance.
1 All the kinds produce galls, but only hemeris
(gall-oak) produces one which is of use for tanning
hides. That of aigilops (Turkey-oak) and that of the
‘broad-leaved’ oak (scrub oak) are in appearance
like that of hemeris (gall-oak), but smoother and use-
less. This also produces the other gall, the black
kind, with which they dye wool. The substance
which some call tree-moss and which resembles rags?
is borne only by the aigilops (Turkey-oak) ; it is grey
and rough 8 and hangs down for a cubit’s length, like
a jong shred of linen. This grows from the bark and
not from the knob‘ whence the acorn starts; nor
does it grow from an eye, but from the side of the
upper boughs. The sea-bark oak also produces this,
but it is blackish ® and short.
Thus the people of Mount Ida distinguish. But
the people of Macedonia make four kinds, ‘ true-oak,’
or the oak which bears the sweet acorns, ‘ broad-
Yeaved’ oak (scrub oak), or that which bears the
bitter ones, Valonia oak, or that which bears the
round ones, and aspris® (Turkey-oak); ‘the last-
named some say is altogether without fruit, some
say it bears poor fruit, so that no animal eats it
except the pig, and only he when he can get no
others, and that after eating it the pig mostly
gets an affection of the head.§ The wood is also
wretched ; when hewn with the axe it is altogether
5 ῥτίμελαν τοῦτο φύει conj. Scal.; ἐπιμ. τοῦτο φύσει U; ἐπὶ
μελίαν τοῦτο φύει MVAId.
6 See Index. 7 Plin. 16. 24.
8 περικεφαλαίᾳ : apparently the name of a disease.
209
THEOPHRASTUS
κηθέντα μὲν ὅλως ἀχρεῖα' καταρήγνυται yap Kal
/ > “ \ / > νὰ \ ef
διαπίπτει" ἀπελέκητα δὲ βελτίω, δι’ ὃ Kal οὕτω
χρῶνται. μοχθηρὰ δὲ καὶ εἰς καῦσιν καὶ εἰς
’ / > a \ .“ ig » \ \
ἀνθρακείαν' ἀχρεῖος yap ὅλως ὁ ἄνθραξ διὰ τὸ
-“ / \ a -“
πηδᾶν καὶ σπινθηρίζειν πλὴν τοῖς χαλκεῦσι.
τούτοις δὲ χρησιμώτερος τῶν ἄλλων" διὰ γὰρ τὸ
“ 4
ἀποσβέννυσθαι, ὅταν παύσηται φυσώμενος, ὀλίγος
᾽ \ \ n ig , / >
ἀναλίσκεται. [τὸ δὲ τῆς ἁλιφλοίου χρήσιμον εἰς
/ \ a
τοὺς ἄξονας μόνον Kal τὰ τοιαῦτα. δρυὸς μὲν
a \
οὖν ταύτας ποιοῦσι τὰς ἰδέας.
“ \ » > 4 A \ ΄,ὔ
ΙΧ, Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ἐλάττους: καὶ σχεδὸν τά
a c ” \ / /
γε πλεῖστα διαιροῦσι ἄρρενι Kal θήλει, καθάπερ
εἴρηται, πλὴν ὀλίγων ὧν ἐστι καὶ ἡ πεύκη:
πεύκης γὰρ τὸ μὲν ἥμερον ποιοῦσι τὸ δ᾽ ἄγριον,
a te) / rs / n \ \ \ ᾽ ’,
τῆς δ᾽ ἀγρίας δύο γένη: καλοῦσι δὲ τὴν μὲν ᾿Ιδαίαν
/ > ΙΑ
τὴν δὲ παραλίαν: τούτων δὲ ὀρθοτέρα καὶ μακρο-
’ >,! \ 4 ” / Ce | /
τέρα καὶ τὸ φύλλον ἔχουσα παχύτερον ἡ ᾿Ιδαία,
Ν Ν / , \ 3 , ς
τὸ δὲ φύλλον λεπτότερον καὶ ἀμενηνότερον ἡ
/ Ν U Ν \ \ ? \
παραλία Kal λειότερον τὸν φλοιὸν καὶ εἰς τὰ
¢ / a
δέρματα χρήσιμον: ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα οὔ. Kal τῶν
a /
στροβίλων ὁ μὲν τῆς παραλίας στρογγύλος τε
7 « -“ >
καὶ διαχάσκων ταχέως, ὁ δὲ τῆς ᾿Ιδαίας paxpo-
τερος καὶ χλωρὸς καὶ ἧττον χάσκων ὡς ἂν
\ / >? / a
ἀγριώτερος: τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἰσχυρότερον τὸ τῆς
a x \ /
παραλίας: δεῖ yap καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας διαφορὰς
1 Plin. 16. 23.
3 τὸ δὲ... τοιαῦτα : this sentence seems out of place, as
ἁλίφλοιος was not one of the ‘ Macedonian’ oaks mentioned
above (Sch.).
210
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vin. 7-1x. 1
useless, for it breaks in pieces and falls asunder ;
if it is not hewn with the axe it is better, where-
fore they so use it. ΤΠ is even wretched. for
burning and for making charcoal; for the charcoal
is entirely useless except to the smith, because it
springs about and emits sparks. But for use in the
smithy it is more serviceable than the other kinds,
since, as it goes out when it ceases to be blown, little
of it is consumed. 2 The wood of the sea-bark oak
is only useful for wheel-axles and the like purposes.
Such are the varieties of the oak? which men
make out.
Of the differences in firs.
ΙΧ. #The differences between other trees are fewer;
for the most part men distinguish them merely
according as they are ‘male’ or ‘ female,’ as has been
said, except in a few cases including the fir ; for in this
tree they distinguish the wild and the cultivated ὃ
kinds, and make two wild kinds, calling one the $ fir
of Ida’ (Corsican pine®) the other the ‘fir of the
sea-shore’ (Aleppo pine); of these the former is
straighter and taller and has thicker leaves,’ while
in the latter the leaves are slenderer and weaker,
and the bark is smoother and useful for tanning
hides, which the other is not. Moreover the cone of
the seaside kind is round and soon splits open, while
that of the Idaean kind is longer and green and
does not open so much, as being of wilder character.
The timber of the seaside kind is stronger,—for one
must note such differences also between trees of the
3T. describes πρῖνος σμῖλαξ, and φελλόδρυς in 3. 16,
φελλός in 3. 17. 1.
4 Plin. 16. 43. > Stone pine. See Index.
6 Plin, 16. 48. 7 φύλλον W. conj.; ξύλον UMVP.
211
THEOPHRASTUS
λαμβάνειν τῶν συγγενῶν" γνώριμοι yap διὰ τὴν
χρείαν.
᾽ , \ \ / “ ΝΜ
Ορθότερον δὲ καὶ παχύτερον, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν,
ἡ ᾿Ιδαία, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις πιττωδέστερον ὅλως τὸ
/ ΄ \ , \ / \
δένδρον, μελαντέρᾷ δὲ πίττῃ καὶ γλυκυτέρᾳ καὶ
λεπτοτέρᾳ καὶ εὐωδεστέρᾳ, ὅταν ἢ wp ἑψη-
a \ lf > / \ \ \
θεῖσα δὲ χείρων ἐκβαίνει διὰ τὸ πολὺν ἔχειν TOV
ὀρρόν. ἐοίκασι δ᾽ ἅπερ οὗτοι διαιροῦσιν ὀνόμασιν
ἰδίοις οἱ ἄλλοι διαιρεῖν τῷ ἄρρενι καὶ θήλει.
ἣν. ᾽ « \ ’ aes / 4
φασὶ δ᾽ οἱ περὶ Μακεδονίαν καὶ ἄκαρπόν τι γένος
ὅλως εἶναι πεύκης, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν βραχύτερόν
ῇ \ na
Te Kal σκληροφυλλότερον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ εὐμηκέ-
\ \
στερον, καὶ Ta φύλλα λιπαρὰ καὶ ἁπαλὰ καὶ
κεκλιμένα μᾶλλον ἔχειν: ἔτι δὲ τὰ ξύλα τῆς μὲν
/ \ \ ΄
ἄρρενος περίμητρα καὶ σκληρὰ καὶ ἐν ταῖς
/ / a \ ’ὔ
ἐργασίαις στρεφόμενα, τῆς δὲ θηλείας εὐεργὰ καὶ
ἀστραβῆ καὶ μαλακώτερα.
\ \ , ς ὃ \ , “
Σχεδὸν δὲ κοινή τις ἡ διαφορὰ πάντων τῶν
bd / \ lal ς ee fe , “
ἀρρένων καὶ θηλειῶν, ὡς οἱ ὑλοτόμοι φασίν. ἅπαν
γὰρ τὸ ἄρρεν τῇ πελεκήσει καὶ βραχύτερον καὶ
» / nr \ s \ nr
ἐπεστραμμενον μᾶλλον ea! δυσεργότερον καὶ τῷ
χρώματι μελάντερον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ εὐμηκέστερον'"
. \ δέ / a
ἐπεὶ καὶ τὴν αἰγίδα THY καλουμένην ἡ θήλεια τῆς
a ᾽ tod
πεύκης ἔχει: τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶ τὸ ἐγκάρδιον αὐτῆς"
1 συγγενῶν conj. R. Const.; ἀγγείων UAld.; ἐγγείων MV
mBas.
2 γνώριμοι conj. R. Const.; γνώριμος UAId.H.; γνώριμα
conj. W.
3 ὀρθότερον conj. R. Const.; ὀξύτερον UMVAId.
+ μελαντέρᾳ. .. εὐωδεστέρᾳ conj. W.; μελάντεραι δὲ πίττη
καὶ γλυκύτεραι καὶ λεπτότεραι καὶ εὐωδέστεραι UMV; μελαντέρα
212
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. ix. 1-3
same kind,! since it is by their use that the different
characters are recognised.’
The Idaean kind is, as we have said, of straighter 3
and stouter growth, and moreover the tree is
altogether more full of pitch, and its pitch is blacker
sweeter thinner and more fragrant* when it is
fresh; though, when it is boiled, it turns out
inferior,> because it contains so much watery matter.
However it appears that the kinds which these
people distinguish by special names are distinguished
by others merely as ‘male’ and ‘female.’ The
people of Macedonia say that there is also a kind of
fir which bears no fruit whatever, in which the
‘male’® (Aleppo pine) is shorter and has harder
leaves, while the ‘female’ (Corsican pine) is taller
and has glistening delicate leaves which are more
pendent. Moreover the timber of the ‘male’ kind
has much heart-wood,’ is tough, and warps in joinery
work, while that of the ‘female’ is easy to work,
does not warp,® and is softer.
This distinction between ‘male’ and ‘female’
may, according to the woodmen, be said to be common
to all trees. Any wood of a ‘male’ tree, when one
comes to cut it with the axe, gives shorter lengths,
is more twisted, harder to work, and darker in
colour; while the ‘female’ gives better lengths.
For it is the ‘female’ fir which contains what is
called the azgis®; this is the heart of the tree; the
δὲ καὶ γλυκυτέρα καὶ λεπτοτέρα Kal εὐωδεστέρα Ald. λεπτοτέρᾳ,
? less viscous.
ΠΟ 9.9. ὁ. ΕἸ 10: 60: 6 Plin:, 16. 47.
7 περίμητρα conj. R. Const.: so Mold. explains; περιμήτρια
ὌΝΟΝ οὐ 5: 9.6:
8 ἀστραβῆ conj. R. Const.; εὐστραβῆ Ald.
9 aiylia: ef. 0. 1. 9; Plin. 16. 187.
213
THEOPHRASTUS
v \ of ’ , \ ? yy \
αἴτιον δὲ ὅτι ἀπευκοτέρα Kal ἧττον ἔνδᾳδος Kai
/ / / “-
λειοτέρα καὶ εὐκτεανωτέρα. γίνεται δὲ ἐν τοῖς
al / , /
μέγεθος ἔχουσι τῶν δένδρων, ὅταν ἐκπεσόντα περι-
A x \ /
σαπῇ τὰ λευκὰ TA κύκλῳ. τούτων γὰρ περι-
4 \ ’ a /
αἱρεθέντων καὶ καταλειφθείσης τῆς μήτρας ἐκ
-“ Ν
ταύτης πελεκᾶται" ἔστι δὲ εὔχρουν σφόδρα καὶ
Iw A \ e \ \ ” \
λεπτόϊνον. ὃ δὲ οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην δαδουργοὶ
fal a x 33 / 5 na si Δ
καλοῦσι συκῆν, τὸ ἐπιγιγνόμενον ἐν ταῖς πεύκαις,
᾽ / \ \ a ’ > “-“ ” ,
ἐρυθρότερον τὴν χροιὰν τῆς δᾳδός, ἐν τοῖς ἄρρεσίν
’ rn Lal n >
ἐστι μᾶλλον: δυσῶδες δὲ τοῦτο Kal οὐκ ὄζει δαδὸς
» \ / > > ’ lal > \ A , <
οὐδὲ καίεται ἀλλ᾽ ἀποπηδᾷ ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρός.
= lal / Ὁ“
Πεύκης μὲν οὖν ταῦτα γένη ποιοῦσιν, ἥμερόν
\ a / , \
τε Kal ἄγριον, Kal τῆς ἀγρίας appevd TE καὶ
/ \ , e
θήλειαν καὶ τρίτην THY ἄκαρπον. οἱ δὲ περὶ THY
> / ” \ ” / ” \
Λρκαδίαν οὔτε τὴν ἄκαρπον λέγουσιν οὔτε τὴν
oy ΄ > \ , - , ον \
ἥμερον πεύκην, AANA πίτυν εἰναι Pact καὶ yap τὸ
/ be A , “-
στέλεχος ἐμφερέστατον εἶναι τῇ πίτυϊ καὶ ἔχειν
/ \ \ / cr
τήν τε λεπτότητα καὶ TO μέγεθος Kal ἐν ταῖς
Ν \ / \ \ fal 7
ἐργασίαις ταὐτὸ τὸ ξύλον' τὸ γὰρ τῆς πεύκης καὶ
\ 2
παχύτερον Kal λειότερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον εἶναι"
\ \ / ,
καὶ τὰ φύλλα τὴν μὲν πεύκην ἔχειν πολλὰ καὶ
\ \ 4 \ 4 \ \ ,
λιπαρὰ καὶ βαθέα καὶ κεκλιμένα, THY δὲ πίτυν
, / Ψ / .
Kal τὴν κωνοφύρον ταύτην ὀλίγα TE καὶ αὐχμωδέ-
\ , r vy \ ,
στερα καὶ πεφρικότα μᾶλλον: «ἄμφω δὲ τριχό-
Ν \ / /, a
φυλλα.» ἔτι δὲ THY πίτταν ἐμφερεστέραν τῆς
1 εὐκτεανωτέρα: εὐκτηδονωτέρα conj. R. Const. ef. 5.1.9;
but text is supported by Hesych. s.v. ἰθυκτέανον.
2 T omit καὶ before τὰ κύκλῳ.
3 Plin. 16. 44.
214
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 3-4
reason being that it is less resinous, less soaked with
pitch, smoother, and of straighter grain. This azgis
is found in the larger trees, when, as they have fallen
down, the white outside part? has decayed; when
this has been stripped off and the core left, it is
cut out of this with the axe; and it is of a good
colour with fine fibre. However the substance
which the torch-cutters of Mount Ida call the $ fig,’ *
which forms in the fir and is redder in colour than
the resin, is found more in the ‘ male’ trees; it has
an evil smell, not like the smell of resin, nor will it
burn, but it leaps away from the fire.
4Such are the kinds of fir which they make out,
the cultivated and the wild, the latter including the
‘male’ and the ‘female’ and also the kind which
bears no fruit. However the Arcadians say that
neither the sterile kind nor the cultivated is a fir,
but a pine; for, they say, the trunk closely resembles
the pine and has its slenderness, its stature, and the
same kind® of wood for purposes of joinery, the
trunk of the fir being thicker smoother and taller ;
moreover that the fir has many leaves, which are
glossy massed together® and pendent, while in the
pine and in the above-mentioned cone-bearing tree’
the leaves are few and drier and stiffer; though in
both the leaves are hair-like.’ Also, they say, the
pitch of this tree is more like that of the pine; for
4 ταῦτα γένη conj. R. Const. from G3 ταῦτά γε UMVAIC.;
Plin. 16. 45-49.
5 ταὐτὸ conj. W.; αὐτὸ Ald.
δ βαθέα: δασέα conj. R. Const. cf. 3. 16. 2.
7 2,6. the cultivated πεύκη (so called). T. uses this peri-
phrasis to avoid begging the question of the name.
8 ἄμφω δὲ τριχ. ins. here by Sch.; in MSS. and Ald. the
words occur in ὃ 5 after πιττωδέστερον.
215
THEOPHRASTUS
πίτυος" Kal yap τὴν πίτυν ἔχειν ὀλίγην TE καὶ
πικράν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν κωνοφόρον, τὴν. δὲ πεύκην
εὐώδη καὶ πολλήν. φύεται δ᾽ ἐν μὲν τῇ ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ
ἡ πίτυς ὀλίγη περὶ δὲ τὴν Ηλείαν πολλή. οὗτοι
μὲν οὖν ὅλῳ τῷ γένει διαμφισβητοῦσιν.
Ἢ δὲ πίτυς δοκεῖ τῆς πεύκης καὶ διαφέρειν τῷ
λιπαρωτέρα τε εἶναι καὶ λεπτοφυλλοτέρα καὶ τὸ
μέγεθος ἐλάττων καὶ ἧττον ὀρθοφυής" ἔτι δὲ τὸν
κῶνον ἐλάττω φέρειν καὶ πεφρικότα μᾶλλον καὶ
τὸ κάρυον πιττωδέστερον' καὶ τὰ ξύλα λευκότερα
καὶ ὁμοιότερα τῇ ἐλάτῃ καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἄπευκα.
διαφορὰν & “ἔχει καὶ ταύτην μεγάλην πρὸς τὴν
πεύκην" πεύκην μὲν γὰρ ἐπικαυθεισῶν τῶν ῥιζῶν
οὐκ ἀναβλαστάνειν, τὴν πίτυν δέ φασί τινες ἀνα-
βλαστάνειν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν Λέσβῳ ἐμπρησθέντος
τοῦ Πυρραίων ὄρους τοῦ πιτυώδους. νόσημα δὲ
ταῖς πεύκαις τοιοῦτόν τι λέγουσι συμβαίνειν οἱ
περὶ τὴν Ἴδην ὥστ᾽, ὅταν μὴ μόνον τὸ ἐγκάρδιον
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἔξω τοῦ στελέχους ἔνδᾳδον γένηται,
τηνικαῦτα ὥσπερ ἀποπνίγεσθαι. τοῦτο δὲ αὐτό-
ματον συμβαίνει Ov εὐτροφίαν τοῦ δένδρου, ὡς av
τις εἰκάσειεν: ὅλον γὰρ γίνεται δάς" περὶ μὲν οὖν
τὴν πεύκην ἴδιον τοῦτο πάθος.
᾿Ελάτη δ' ἐστὶν ἡ μὲν ἄρρην ἡ δὲ θήλεια, δια-
φορὰς δ᾽ ἔχουσα τοῖς φύλλοις" ὀξύτερα γὰρ καὶ
κεντητικώτερα τὰ τοῦ ἄρρενος, καὶ ἐπεστ βαμμένα
μᾶλλον, δι’ ὃ καὶ οὐλότερον τῇ ὄψει φαίνεται τὸ
δένδρον ὅλον. καὶ τῷ Etho λευκότερον γὰρ καὶ
μαλακώτερον καὶ εὐεργέστερον τὸ τῆς θηλείας καὶ
1 πικρὰν conj. R. Const. from G ; μικρὰν VAId. a
2 καὶ ταύτην μεγάλην πρὸς conj. Sch.; kal τὴν μεγΎ. πρὸς
ΟΜΝ; μεγάλην πρὸς Ald,
216
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 4-6
in the pine too it is scanty and bitter,! as in this
other cone-bearing tree, but in the fir it is fragrant
and abundant. Now the pine is rare in Arcadia,
but common in Elis. The Arcadians then dispute
altogether the nomenclature.
The pine appears to differ also from the fir in
being glossier and having finer leaves, while it is
smaller in stature and does not grow so straight ;
also in bearing a smaller cone, which is stiffer and
has a more pitchy kernel, while its wood is whiter,
more like that of the silver-fir, and wholly free from
pitch. And there is another great difference?
between it and the fir; the fir, if it is burnt down
to the roots, does not shoot up again, while the
pine, according to some, will do so; for instance
this happened in Lesbos,*? when the pine-forest of
Pyrrha* was burnt. The people of Ida say that the
fir is liable to a kind of disease ;—when not only the
heart but the outer part of the trunk becomes glutted ὅ
with pitch, the tree then is as it were choked. This
happens of its own accord through the excessive
luxuriance of the tree, as one may conjecture ; for
it all turns into pitch-glutted wood. This then is an
affection peculiar to the fir.
6 The silver-fir is either ‘male’ or ‘female,’ and
has differences in its leaves’; those of the ‘male’
are sharper more needle-like and more bent ; where-
fore the whole tree has a more compact appearance.
There are also differences in the wood, that of the
‘female’ being whiter softer and easier to work,
es Λέσβῳ conj. W. from G, and Plin. 16. 46; eis Λέσβον
4 On the W. of Lesbos, modern Caloni. cf. 2.2.6; Plin. 1.6.
5 of. 1.6.1; Plin. 16. 44.
6 Plin. 16. 48. ΤΟΙ 8:9.
217
THEOPHRASTUS
TO ὅλον στέλεχος εὐμηκέστερον' τὸ δὲ τοῦ ἄρρε-
νος ποικιλώτερον καὶ παχύτερον καὶ σκληρότερον
καὶ περίμητρον. μᾶλλον ὅλως δὲ φαυλότερον τὴν
ὄψιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ κώνῳ τῷ μὲν τοῦ ἄρρενός ἐστι
κάρυα ὀλίγα ἐπὶ τοῦ ἄκρου, τῷ δὲ τῆς θηλείας
ὅλως οὐδέν, ὡς οἱ ἐκ Μακεδονίας ἔλεγον. ἔχει δὲ
πτέρυγας τὸ φύλλον καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἔλαττον, ὥστε τὴν
ὅλην μορφὴν εἶναι θολοειδῆ καὶ παρόμοιον (pa
λιστα ταῖς Βοιωτίαις κυνέαις" πυκνὸν δὲ οὕτως
ὥστε μήτε χιόνα διϊέναι μήθ᾽ ὑετόν. ὅλως δὲ καὶ
τῇ ὄψει τὸ δένδρον καλόν" καὶ γὰρ ἡ βλάστησις
ἰδία τις, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, παρὰ τὰς ἄλλας καὶ μόνη
τάξιν ἐ ἔχουσα" τῷ δὲ μεγέθει μέγα καὶ πολὺ τῆς
πεύκης εὐμηκέστερον.
Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸ ξύλον οὐ μικρόν: τὸ
μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐλάτης ἰνῶδες καὶ μαλακὸν καὶ κοῦ-
gov, τὸ δὲ τῆς πεύκης δᾳδῶδες καὶ βαρὺ καὶ
σαρκωδέστερον. ὄζους δὲ ἔχει πλείους μὲν ἡ
πεύκη σκληροτέρους δ᾽ ἡ ἐλάτη, σχεδὸν δὲ πάν-
των ὡς εἰπεῖν σκληροτέρους, τὸ δὲ ξύλον μαλα-
κώτερον. ὅλως δὲ οἱ ὄζοι πυκνότατοι καὶ “στερεώ-
TATOL μόνον οὐ διαφανεῖς ἐλάτης καὶ πεύκης καὶ
τῷ χρώματι δᾳδώδεις καὶ μάλιστα διάφοροι τοῦ
ξύλου, μᾶλλον ᾿δὲ τῆς ἐλάτης. ἔχει δέ, ὥσπερ ἡ
πεύκη τὴν αἰγίδα, καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη τὸ λευκὸν λοῦσσον
1 παχύτερον conj. W.; πλατύτερον Ald.
2 Plin. 16. 48 and 49. 3 For the tense see Intr. p. xx.
4 φύλλον, 1.6. the leafy shoot. Sch. considers φύλλον to
be corrupt, and refers the following description to the cone ;
W. marks a lacuna after φύλλον. Pliny, l.c., seems to have
read φύλλον, but does not render καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἔλαττον... κυνέαις.
The words καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἔλαττον can hardly be sound as they stand.
For the description of the foliage cf. 1. 10. 5.
218
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 6-7
while the whole trunk is longer; that of the ‘ male’
is less of a uniform colour thicker! and harder, has
more heart-wood, and is altogether inferior in appear-
ance. In the cone? of the ‘male’ are a few seeds at
the apex, while that of the ‘female,’ according to
what the Macedonians said,? contains none at all.
The foliage* is feathered and the height dispropor-
tionate so that the general appearance of the tree
is dome-like,° and closely resembles the Boeotian
peasant’s hat®; and it is so dense that neither snow
nor rain penetrates it. And in general the tree has
a handsome appearance; for its growth is somewhat
peculiar, as has been said, compared with the others,
it being the only one which is regular, and in stature
it is large, much taller than the fir.
7 There is also not a little difference in the wood:
that of the silver-fir is fibrous ὃ soft and light, that of
the fir is resinous heavy and more fleshy. The fir
has more knots,? but the silver-fir harder ones;
indeed they may be said to be harder than those of
any tree, though the wood otherwise is softer. And
in general the knots of silver-fir and fir are of the
closest and most solid 10 texture and almost 11 trans-
parent: in colour they are like resin-glutted wood,
and quite different from the rest of the wood; and
this is especially so!” in the silver-fir. And just as
the fir has its azgis,!3 so the silver-fir has what is
5 θολοειδῇ conj. Scal.; θηλοειδῇ U (erased) ; θηλοειδὲς MV;
ut concameratum imitetur G3 θολιοειδῇ ; in Theocr. 15. 39.
θολία seems to be a sun-hat.
8 κυνέαις : cf. Hesych. s.v. κυνῇ Βοιωτία, apparently a hat
worn in the fields.
Το: 5. 19 ἢ: Sef 1.5: ΕΟ 100
10 cf. 5. 1. 6, κερατώδεις. 11 οὐ ins. Sch.
12 μᾶλλον δὲ conj. W.; μᾶλλον ἢ Ald. AS We finen'9s 5:
219
THEOPHRASTUS
/ > / a 5: sh \ \
καλούμενον, οἷον ἀντίστροφον TH αἰγίδι, πλὴν TO
\ Ἂν « ’ bah 7 \ \ ”
μὲν λευκὸν ἡ δ᾽ αἰγὶς εὔχρως διὰ τὸ ἔνδᾳδον.
Ν a
πυκνὸν δὲ Kal λευκὸν γίνεται Kal καλὸν ἐκ TOV
/ ” / » \ / \
πρεσβυτέρων ἤδη δένδρων: ἀλλὰ σπάνιον τὸ
/ Ν \ \ / > La / a
χρηστόν, τὸ δὲ τυχὸν δαψιλές, ἐξ οὗ Ta TE τῶν
a \ a
ζωγράφων πινάκια ποιοῦσι καὶ τὰ γραμματεῖα τὰ
΄ Ν Ee poe) / > a ,
πολλά: Ta δ᾽ ἐσπουδασμένα ἐκ τοῦ βελτίονος.
/ / A
Oi δὲ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν ἀμφότερα καλοῦσιν
\ n / \ \ an
αἰγίδα καὶ τὴν τῆς πεύκης Kal THY τῆς ἐλάτης,
- \
καὶ εἶναι πλείω THY τῆς ἐλάτης ἀλλὰ καλλίω τὴν
- = \ a \ / /
τῆς πεύκης" εἶναι γὰρ τῆς μὲν ἐλάτης πολλήν τε
“ \ fas 3 ,
Kal λείαν καὶ πυκνήν, τῆς δὲ πεύκης ὀλίγην, τὴν
> td
μέντοι οὖσαν οὐλοτέραν καὶ ἰσχυροτέραν Kal TO
“ ΄ Φ Ν Φ Ψ 9} al 2 ,
ὅλον καλλίω. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἐοίκασι τοῖς ὀνόμασι
ia) € Ne a> / 7 ” \
διαφωνεῖν. ἡ δὲ ἐλάτη ταύτας ἔχει τὰς διαφο-
\ »
pas πρὸς τὴν πεύκην καὶ ETL τὴν περὶ THY ap-
ὃ ,
φαυξιν, ἣν πρότερον εἴπομεν.
Ν ’
X. Ὀξύη δ᾽ οὐκ ἔχει διαφορὰς ἀλλ᾽ ἐστὶ povo-
, 2 \ XN \ a Nf. \ ,
γενές: ὀρθοφυὲς δὲ καὶ λεῖον καὶ ἄνοζον Kai πάχος
καὶ ὕψος ἔχον σχεδὸν ἴσον τῇ ἐλάτῃ: καὶ τἄλλα
\ , \ , ΄, ΚΙ δὴ
δὲ παρόμοιον [τε] τὸ δένδρον: ξύλον δὲ εὔχρουν
ἰσχυρὸν εὔινον καὶ φλοιὸν λεῖον καὶ παχύν, φύλ-
’
λον δ᾽ ἀσχιδὲς προμηκέστερον ἀπίου καὶ ἐπα-
/ > » ev ” \ » \
κάνθιζον ἐξ ἄκρου, ῥίζας οὔτε πολλὰς οὔτε κατὰ
lal ΄
βάθους: ὁ δὲ καρπὸς λεῖος βαλανώδης ἐν ἐχίνῳ
1 αἵ. Eur. 1.4. 99; Hipp. 1254.
2 τὰ δ᾽ conj. Scal.; καὶ Ald.
3 πεύκης conj. Scal. from G; ἐλάτης Ald.
4 ἐλάτης conj. Scal. from G3 πεύκης Ald.
220
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 7-x. 1
called its white ‘ centre,’ which answers, as it were, to
the aigis of the fir, except that it is white, while
the other is bright-coloured because it is glutted with
pitch. It becomes close white and good in trees
which are of some age, but it is seldom found in good
condition, while the ordinary form of it is abundant
and is used to make painters’ boards and ordinary
writing tablets,! superior ones being? made of the
better form.
However the Arcadians call both substances aigis,
alike that of the fir? and the corresponding part of
the silver-fir,# and say that, though the silver-fir
produces more, that of the fir is better; for that,
though that of the silver-fir is abundant’ smooth and
close, that of the fir, though scanty, is compacter
stronger and fairer in general. The Arcadians then
appear to differ as to the names which they give.
Such are the differences in the silver-fir as com-
pared with the fir, and there is also that of having
the amphauzis,® which we mentioned before.
Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, lime.
X. The beech presents no differences, there being
but one kind. It is a straight-growing smooth and
unbranched tree, and in thickness and height is
about equal to the silver-fir, which it also resembles
in other respects ; the wood is of a fair colour strong
and of good grain, the bark smooth and thick, the
leaf undivided, longer than a pear-leaf, spinous at the
tip,’ the roots neither numerous nor running deep;
the fruit is smooth like an acorn, enclosed in a shell,
5 πολλὴν conj. Gesner ; οὔλην UmBas.; ὅλην MV Ald.
Sefcios ious
7 4,e. mucronate. ef. 3. 11. 3.
221
THEOPHRASTUS
πλὴν [ove] ἀνακάνθῳ Kal λείῳ, Kal οὐχ ὡς ἡ
διοσβάλανος ἀκανθώδει, προσεμφερὴς δὲ καὶ
κατὰ γλυκύτητα καὶ κατὰ τὸν χυλὸν ἐκείνῳ.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ ὄρει λευκή, ἣ καὶ χρήσιμον
ἔχει τὸ ξύλον πρὸς πολλά: καὶ γὰρ πρὸς ἁμαξἕ-
ουργίαν καὶ πρὸς κλινοπηγίαν καὶ εἰς διφρουρ-
γίαν καὶ εἰς τραπεζίαν καὶ εἰς ναυπηγίαν' ἡ δ᾽ ἐν
τοῖς πεδίοις μέλαινα καὶ ἄχρηστος πρὸς TavTa:
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἔχουσι παραπλήσιον.
Μονογενὴς δὲ καὶ ἡ μίλος, ὀρθοφυὴς δὲ καὶ
εὐαυξὴς καὶ ὁμοία τῇ ἐλάτῃ, πλὴν οὐχ ὑψηλὸν
οὕτω, πολυμάσχαλον δὲ μᾶλλον. ὅμοιον δὲ καὶ
τὸ φύλλον ἔχει τῇ ἐλάτῃ, λιπαρώτερον δὲ καὶ
μαλακώτερον. τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἡ μὲν ἐξ ᾿Αρκαδίας
μέλαν καὶ φοινικοῦν, ἡ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς Ἴδης ξανθὸν
σφόδρα καὶ ὅμοιον τῇ κέδρῳ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τοὺς πω-
λοῦντάς φασιν ἐξαπατᾶν ὡς ,κέδρον πωλοῦντας"
πᾶν γὰρ εἶναι καρδίαν, ὃ ὅταν ὁ φλοιὸς περιαιρεθῇ'
ὅμοιον. δὲ καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν ἐ ἔχειν καὶ τῇ τραχύτητι
καὶ τῷ χρώματι τῇ κέδρῳ, ῥίξας δὲ μικρὰς καὶ
λεπτὰς καὶ ἐπιπολαίους. σπάνιον δὲ τὸ δένδρον
περὶ τὴν Ἴδην, περὶ δὲ Μακεδονίαν καὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν
πολύ: καὶ καρπὸν φέρει στρογγύλον μικρῷ μείξω
κυάμου, τῷ χρώματι ἐρυ ρὸν καὶ μαλακόν'
φασὶ δὲ τὰ μὲν λόφουρα ἐὰν φάγῃ τῶν φύλλων
ἀποθνήσκειν, τὰ δὲ μηρυκάζοντα οὐδὲν πάσχειν.
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἐσθίουσι καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τινὲς
καὶ ἔστιν ἡδὺς καὶ ἀσινής.
1 ἐχῖνος being otherwise used of a prickly case, such as
that of the chestnut. πλὴν ἄνακ. καὶ λείῳ conj. W.; πλὴν
οὐκ ἀνακάνθωι Kal λείωι U3 πλὴν οὐκ ἐν ἀκάνθῳ MV AId.
222
ENQUIRY- INTO PLANTS, lL. x. 1-2
which is however without prickles! and smooth, not
spinous,” like the chestnut, though in sweetness and
flavour it resembles it. In mountain country it also
grows white and has* timber which is useful for
many purposes, for making carts beds chairs and
tables, and for shipbuilding‘; while the tree of the
plains is black and useless for these purposes ; but
the fruit is much the same in both.
5 The yew has also but one kind, is straight-
growing, grows readily, and is like the silver-fir,
except that it is not so tall and is more branched.
Its leaf is also like that of the silver-fir, but glossier
and less stiff. As to the wood, in the Arcadian yew
it is black or red, in that of Ida bright yellow and
like prickly cedar ; wherefore they say that dealers
practise deceit, selling it for that wood: for that it is
all heart, when the bark is stripped off; its bark also
resembles that of prickly cedar in roughness and
colour, its roots are few slender and shallow. The
tree is rare about Ida, but common in Macedonia and
Arcadia; it bears a round fruit a little larger than a
bean, which is red in colour and soft; and they say
that, if beasts of burden ® eat of the leaves they die,
while ruminants take no hurt. Even men sometimes
eat the fruit, which is sweet and harmless.
2 ἀκανθώδει conj. R. Const.; ἀκανθώδη Ald. H.
3 λευκὴ ἣ καὶ conj. W.; λευκή τε καὶ Ald. H.
ἈΠ 5. θ. 41. δ. 71 9 8π 6:
> Plin. 16. 62. (description taken from this passage, but
applied to fraxinus, apparently from confusion between
ufAos and μελία).
δ. ἡ. 4 τ
223
3
THEOPHRASTUS
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ ὄστρυς “μονοειδής, ἣν καλοῦσί
τινες ὀστρύαν, ὁμοφυὲς τῇ ὀξύᾳ τῇ τε ᾿φυτείᾳ καὶ
τῷ φλοιῷ' φύλλα δὲ ἀπιοειδῆ τῷ σχήματι, πλὴν
προμηκέστερα πολλῷ καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ συνηγμένα καὶ
μείζω, πολύϊνα δέ, ἀπὸ τῆς μέσης εὐθείας καὶ
μεγάλης τῶν ἄλλων πλευροειδῶς κατατεινουσῶν
καὶ πάχος ἐχουσῶν" ἔτι δὲ ἐρρυτιδωμένα κατὰ
τὰς ἶνας καὶ χαραγμὸν ἔχοντα κύκλῳ λεπτόν" τὸ
δὲ ξύλον σκληρὸν καὶ _axpour, *eNEUKOU: καρπὸν
δὲ μικρὸν πρόμακρον ὅμοιον κριθῇ ξανθόν: ῥίξας
δὲ ἔχει μετεώρους" ἔνυδρον δὲ καὶ φαραγγῶδες.
λέγεται δὲ ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτήδειον εἰς οἰκίαν εἰσφέ-
pew: δυσθανατεῖν γάρ φασι καὶ δυστοκεῖν οὗ
x 2
ἂν ἡ.
Τῆς δὲ φιλύρας ἡ μὲν ἄρρην ἐστὶ ἡ δὲ θήλεια"
διαφέ έρουσι ὃ δὲ τῇ μορφῇ τῇ ὅλῃ καὶ τῇ τοῦ ξύλου καὶ
τῷ τὸ μὲν. εἶναι κάρπιμον τὸ δ᾽ ἄκαρπον. τὸ μὲν
γὰρ τῆς ἄρρενος ξύλον σκληρὸν καὶ ξανθὸν καὶ
ὀξωδέστερον καὶ “πυκνότερόν ἐστι, ἔτι δ᾽ εὐωδέ-
στερον, τὸ δὲ τῆς θηλείας λευκότερον. καὶ ὁ
φλοιὸς τῆς μὲν ἄρρενος παχύτερος καὶ περιαιρεθεὶς
ἀκαμπὴς διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα, τῆς δὲ θηλείας λεπ-
τότερος καὶ εὐκαμπής, ἐξ οὗ τὰς κίστας ποιοῦσιν"
καὶ ἡ μὲν ἄκαρπος καὶ ἀνανθής, ἡ δὲ θήλεια
καὶ ἄνθος ἔχει. καὶ καρπόν" τὸ μὲν ἄνθος καλυ-
κῶδες παρὰ τὸν τοῦ φύλλου μίσχον καὶ παρὰ
1 cf. 1. 8. 2 (ὀστρυίς), 3. 3.1; C.P. 5. 12. 9 (ὀστρύη) ; Plin.
Sy Liv:
2 wéons... κατατεινουσῶν conj. Sch.; μέσης πλευροειδῶς
τῶν ἄλλων εὐθειῶν καὶ μεγάλην κατατεινουσῶν Ald. cf. 1.10.2;
3.17.3
224
ENQUIRY “INTO “PLANTS, IIT. x. 3-4
The ostrys (hop-hornbeam),! which some call
ostrya, has also but one kind: it is like the beech in
growth and bark ; its leaves are in shape like a pear’s,
except that they are much longer, come to a sharp
point, are larger, and have many fibres, which branch
out like ribs from a large straight one? in the
middle, and are thick; also the leaves are wrinkled
along the fibres and have a finely serrated edge ; the
wood is hard veolourless and whitish; the fruit is
small oblong and yellow like barley; it has shallow
roots; it loves water and is found in ravines. It is
said to be unlucky to bring it into the house, since,
wherever it is, it is supposed to cause a painful
death ® or painful labour in giving birth.
4The lime has both ‘male’ and ‘ female’ forms,
which differ in their general appearance, in that ot
the wood, and in being respectively fruit-bearing
and sterile. The wood of the ‘male’ tree is hard
yellow more branched closer, and also more fragrant ὃ ;
that of the ‘female’ is whiter. The bark of the
‘male’ is thicker, and, when stripped off, is un-
bending because of its hardness ; that of the ‘female’
is thinner® and flexible; men make their writing-
cases‘ out of it. The ‘male’ has neither fruit nor
flower, but the ‘female’ has both flower and fruit ;
the flower is cup-shaped, and appears alongside
of the stalk of the leaf, or alongside of next year’s
3 δυσθανατεῖν I conj. ; δυσθάνατον P,Ald.; δυσθανατᾶν conj.
Sch., but δυσθανατᾶν has a desiderative sense.
4 Plin. 16. 65.
5 ἔτι δ᾽ evwd. inserted here by Sch.; cf. Plin., U.c. In Ald.
the words, with the addition τὸ τῆς θηλείας, occur after
ποιοῦσιν.
6 χεπτότερος conj. Sch ; λευκότερος Ald,
Τ αἵ. 8.13.1; Ατ. Vesp. δ29.
2215
THEOPHRASTUS
‘ / a ee
τὴν εἰς νέωτα κάχρυν ἐφ᾽ ἑτέρου μίσχου, χλοερὸν
δὲ ὅταν ἡ καλυκῶδες, ἐκκαλυπτόμενον δὲ ἐπίξαν-
θον: ἡ δὲ ἄνθησις ἅμα τοῖς ἡμέροις. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς
, ’ὔ 4 a
στρογγύλος πρόμακρος ἡλίκος κύαμος ὅμοιος TH
lal -“ ‘4 e ἊΝ a
τοῦ KLTTOV, γωνίας ἔχων ὁ ἁδρὸς πέντε οἷον ἰνῶν
lal / e
ἐξεχουσῶν καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ συναγομένων: ὁ δὲ μὴ
[2 \ Ψ , , \ id ta \
adpos ἀδιαρθρότερος: διακνιζόμενος δὲ ὁ adpos
ἔχει μίκρ᾽ ἄττα καὶ λεπτὰ σπερμάτια ἡλίκα καὶ
a Ἂς «
ὁ τῆς ἀδραφάξυος. τὸ δὲ φύλλον καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς
«ς / A / \ \ \ a \
ἡδέα καὶ γλυκέα: τὴν δὲ μορφὴν κιττῶδες TO
7 \ > a a e
φύλλον, πλὴν ἐκ προσαγωγῆς μᾶλλον ἡ περι-
x \ \ a , /
φέρεια, KATA TO πρὸς τῷ μίσχῳ κυρτότατον,
,
ἀλλὰ κατὰ μέσον εἰς ὀξύτερον τὴν συναγωγὴν
ἔχον καὶ μακρότερον, ἔπουλον δὲ κύκλῳ καὶ κεχα-
peeks \ LS >
ραγμένον. μήτραν δ᾽ ἔχει τὸ ξύλον μικρὰν καὶ ov
/ a \ \ \
πολὺ μαλακωτέραν τοῦ ἄλλου: μαλακὸν yap καὶ
τὸ ἄλλο ξύλον.
ΧΙ. Τῆς δὲ σφενδάμνου, καθάπερ εἴπομεν, δύο
ar e \ ’ \ lal a
γένη ποιοῦσιν, ot δὲ τρία' ἕν μὲν δὴ τῷ κοινῷ
προσαγορεύουσι σφένδαμνον, ἕτερον δὲ ζυγίαν,
/ ig
τρίτον δὲ κλινότροχον, WS οἱ περὶ Στάγειρα. δια-
“- / fel
φορὰ δ᾽ ἐστὶ τῆς Cuyias καὶ τῆς σφενδάμνου ὅτι
« Ν / \ ” \ / Ν
ἡ μὲν σφένδαμνος λευκὸν ἔχει τὸ ξύλον καὶ
> / ς Ν ’, \ \ Ss Ν \
εὐινότερον, ἡ δὲ ζυγία ξανθὸν καὶ οὗλον: τὸ δὲ
φύλλον εὐμέγεθες ἄμφω, τῇ σχίσει ὅμοιον τῷ
ΜΕΎ ΟΣ TD AX es ‘
1 of. 3. 5. 5. and 6.
2 διακνιζόμενος : διασχιζόμενος, ‘when split open,’ conj. W.
* ef: 1. 129,45) CFE 919} 81,12
δ προσαγορεύουσι conj. W. from (ἃ ; προσαγορεύεται Ald,
226
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x. 4q—-x1.1
winter-bud! on a separate stalk; it is green, when
in the cup-like stage, but brownish as it opens; it
appears at the same time as in the cultivated trees.
The fruit is rounded oblong as large as a bean,
resembling the fruit of the ivy; when mature, it
has five angular projections, as it were, made by
projecting fibres which meet in a point; the im-
mature fruit is less articulated. When the mature
fruit is pulled to pieces,’ it shows some small fine
seeds of the same size as those of orach. The leaf and
the bark 38 are well flavoured and sweet; the leaf is
like that of the ivy in shape, except that it rounds
more gradually, being most curved at the part next
the stalk, but in the middle contracting to a sharper
and longer apex, and its edge is somewhat puckered
and jagged. The timber contains little core, which
is not much softer than the other part; for the rest
of the wood is also soft.
Of maple and ash.
XI. Of the maple, as we have said,‘ some make ὃ
two kinds, some three; one they call by the general
name ‘maple,’ another zygza, the third klinotrokhos® ;
this name, for instance, is used by the people of
Stagira. The difference between zygia and maple
proper is that the latter has white wood of finer
fibre, while that of zygza is yellow and of compact
texture. The leaf’ in both trees is large, resem-
bling that of the plane in the way in which it is
6 κλινότροχον Ald.; κλινόστροχον U; ἰνότροχον conj. Salm,
from Plin. 16. 66 and 67, cursivenium or crassivenium. Sch.
thinks that the word conceals γλῖνος ; cf. 3. 8.1; 3. 11. 2.
7 φύλλον conj. R. Const.; ξύλον UMVAId.H.G.
227
THEOPHRASTUS
THS πλατάνου τετανὸν λεπτότερον δὲ καὶ ἀσαρκό-
τερον καὶ μαλακώτερον καὶ προμηκέστερον' τὰ δὲ
σχίσμαθ᾽ ὅλα 7 εἰς ὀξὺ συνήκοντα καὶ οὐχ οὕτω
μεσοσχιδῆ ἀλλ᾽ ἀκροσχιδέστερα" οὐ πολύϊνα δὲ
ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος. ἔχει δὲ καὶ φλοιὸν μικρῷ
τραχύτερον τοῦ τῆς φιλύρας, ὑποπέλιον παχὺν καὶ
πυκνότερον ἢ ὁ τῆς πίτυος καὶ ἀκαμπῆ: ῥίζαι δ᾽
ὀλίγαι καὶ μετέωροι καὶ οὖλαι σχεδὸν αἱ πλεῖσται
καὶ αἱ τῆς ξανθῆς καὶ αἱ τῆς λευκῆς. γίνεται δὲ
μάλιστα ἐν τοῖς ἐφύδροις, ὡς οἱ περὶ THY“ Idnv λέ-
γουσι, καὶ ἔστι σπάνιον. περὶ ἄνθους δὲ οὐκ ἤδεσαν'"
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν οὐ λίαν μὲν προμήκη, παρόμοιον δὲ
τῷ παλιούρῳ πλὴν προμηκέστερον. οἱ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ
Ὀλύμπῳ τὴν μὲν ξυγίαν ὄρειον μᾶλλον, τὴν δὲ
σφένδαμνον καὶ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις φύεσθαι: εἶναι δὲ
τὴν μὲν ἐν τῷ ὄρει φυομένην ξανθὴν καὶ εὔχρουν
καὶ οὔλην καὶ στερεών, 7 καὶ πρὸς τὰ πολυτελῆ
τῶν ἔργων χρῶνται, τὴν δὲ πεδεινὴν λευκήν τε
καὶ μανοτέραν καὶ ἧττον οὔλην" καλοῦσι δ᾽ αὐτὴν
ἔνιοι γλεῖνον, οὐ σφένδαμνον. ... καὶ τῆς ἄρρενος
οὐλότερα τὰ ξύλα συνεστραμμένα, καὶ ἐν τῷ
πεδίῳ ταύτην φύεσθαι μᾶλλον καὶ βλαστάνειν
πρωΐτερον.
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ μελιας γένη δυο. τούτων δ᾽ ἡ
μὲν ὑψηλὴ καὶ εὐμήκης ἐστὶ τὸ ξύλον “ἔχουσα
λευκὸν καὶ εὔινον καὶ μαλακώτερον καὶ ἀνοζό-
1 reravov: of. 3. 12. 5; 3. 15. 6.
2 σχίσμαθ᾽ conj. R. Const. from G; σχίμαθ᾽ Ald.Cam.;
σχήμαθ᾽ Bas., which W. reads.
3 ὅλα: ὅλως.
4 6. do not run back so far.
5 πολύϊνα conj. R. Const.; πολύ" iva δὲ Ald.; modu: ἵνα δὲ M.
228
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IIL. x1. 1-3
divided ; it is smooth,! but more delicate, less fleshy,
softer, longer in proportion to its breadth, and the
divisions? all? tend to meet in a point, while they
do not occur so much in the middle of the leaf,‘
but rather at the tip; and for their size the leaves
have not many fibres.5 The bark too is somewhat
rougher than that of the lime, of blackish colour
thick closer ® than that of the Aleppo pine,and stiff;
the roots are few shallow and compact for the most
part, both those of the yellow and those of the white-
wooded tree. This tree occurs chiefly in wet ground,’
as the people of Mount Ida say, and is rare. About
its flower they did § not know, but the fruit, they said,
is not very oblong, but like that of Christ’s thorn,’
except that it is more oblong than that. But the
people of Mount Olympus say that, while zygia is
rather a mountain tree, the maple proper grows also
in the plains; and that the form which grows in the
mountains has yellow wood of a bright colour, which
is of compact texture and hard, and is used even for
expensive work, while that of the plains has white
wood of looser make and less compact texture. And
some call it gleznos!° instead of maple. ... . τ Ἴδης
wood of the ‘male’ tree is of compacter texture and
twisted; this tree, it is said, grows rather in the
plain and puts forth its leaves earlier.
12 There are also two kinds of ash. Of these one is
lofty and of strong growth with white wood of good
fibre, softer, with less knots, and of more compact
5 πυκνότερον conj. Scal. from G ; πυρώτερον UAId.
7 ἐφύδροις : ὑφύδροις conj. Sch. cf. ὕφαμμος, ὑπόπετρος.
Sief.'3) 900 ne; ante, prxx. 9 of 3.18.3.
hts ew om 1: el bye dative
ἢ W. marks a lacuna: the description of the ‘ female’
tree seems to be missing. 2 Plin. 16, 62-64.
229
THEOPHRASTUS
τερον Kal οὐλότερον" ἡ δὲ ταπεινοτέρα καὶ ἧττον
εὐαυξὴς καὶ τραχυτέρα καὶ σκληροτέρα καὶ Eav-
θοτέρα. τὰ δὲ φύλλα τῷ μὲν σχήματι δαφνοειδῆ,
πλατυφύλλου δάφνης, εἰς ὀξύτερον δὲ συνηγμένα,
χαραγμὸν δέ τιν᾽ ἔχοντα, κύκλῳ καὶ ἐπακανθί-
ζοντα" τὸ δὲ ὅλον, ὅπερ εἴποι τις ἂν φύλλον τῷ
ἅμα φυλλορροεῖν, ἀφ᾽ ἑνὸς μίσχου' καὶ περὶ
μίαν οἷον iva κατὰ γόνυ καὶ συζυγίαν τὰ φύλλα
καθ᾽ ἕκαστον πέφυκε, συχνῶν διεχουσῶν τῶν
συζυγιῶν, ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς οἴης. ἔστι δὲ τῶν
μὲν βραχέα τὰ γόνατα καὶ αἱ συζυγίαι τὸ πλῆθος
ἐλάττους, τῶν δὲ τῆς λευκῆς καὶ μακρὰ καὶ
πλείους: καὶ τὰ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον φύλλα μακρότερα
καὶ στενότερα, τὴν δὲ χρόαν πρασώδη. φλοιὸν
δὲ λεῖον ἔχει, καπυρὸν δὲ καὶ λεπτὸν καὶ τῇ
χρόᾳ πυρρόν. πυκνόρριξον δὲ καὶ παχύρριξον
καὶ μετέωρον. καρπὸν δὲ οἱ μὲν περὶ τὴν δὴν
οὐχ ὑπελάμβανον ἔχειν οὐδ᾽ ἄνθος" ἔχει δ᾽ ἐν
a fal \ \ e fal >
ΕΣ ὧν καρπὸν καρυηρὸν ὡς τῶν ἀμυγδα-
pov τῇ γεύσει. φέρει δὲ καὶ ἕτερ
ἄττα οἷον βρύα, καθάπερ ἡ δάφνη, πλὴν στιφρό-
tepa’ καὶ ἕκαστον καθ᾽ αὑτὸ σφαιροειδές, ὥσπερ
τὰ τῶν πλατάνων" τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὸν
καρπόν, τὰ δ᾽ ἀπηρτημένα πολύ, καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα
οὕτω. φύεται δὲ ἡ μὲν λεία περὶ τὰ βαθυάγκη
μάλιστα καὶ ἔφυδρα, ἡ δὲ τραχεῖα καὶ περὶ τὰ ξηρὰ
καὶ πετρώδη. ἔνιοι δὲ καλοῦσι τὴν μὲν μελίαν
1 οὐλότερον : ἀνουλότερον W. from Sch.’s conj.; ἄνουλος
does not occur elsewhere, and T. uses μανός as the opposite
of οὖλος.
2 χ 6. instead of considering the leaflet as the unit. For
the description cf. 3. 12. 5; 3. 15, 4.
230
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1. 3-4
texture! ; the other is shorter, less vigorous in growth,
rougher harder and yellower. The leaves in shape
are like those of the bay, that is, the broad-leaved
bay, but they contract to a sharper point, and they
have a sort of jagged outline with sharp points.
The whole leaf (if one may consider this as? a ‘leaf’
because it is all shed at once) grows on a single
stalk; on either side of a single fibre, as it were,
the leaflets grow at a joint in pairs, which are
numerous and distinct, just as in the sorb. In some
leaves the joints are short? and the pairs fewer in
number, but in those of the white kind the joint is
long and the pairs more numerous, while the leaflets
are longer narrower and leek-green in colour. Also
this tree has a smooth bark, which is dry thin and
red in colour. The roots are matted stout and
shallow.* As to the fruit, the people of Ida supposed
it to have none, and no flower either; however it
lias a nut-like fruit in a thin pod, like the fruit of
the almond, and it is somewhat bitter in taste. And
it also bears certain other things like winter-buds,
as does the bay, but they are more solid,’ and each
separate one is globular, like those of the plane;
some of these occur around the fruit, some, in fact
the greater number,$ are at a distance from it. The
smooth kind? grows mostly in deep ravines and damp
places, the rough kind occurs also in dry and rocky
parts. Some, for instance the Macedonians, call the
δ βραχέα conj. Scal. from G; τραχέα UAId.H.
4 Bod. inserts οὐ before μετέωρον ; cf. 3. 6. 5. (Idaean
account. )
> στιφρότερα conj. Dalec.; στρυφνότερα MSS.
5 πλεῖστα conj. R, Const.; πλεκτὰ UMVAId.
“of. Plini foe
221
THEOPHRASTUS
τὴν δὲ βουμέλιον, ὥσπερ ot περὶ Μακεδονίαν.
ac \ \ , ε , 5 Ὰ \
μεῖζον δὲ καὶ μανότερον ἡ βουμέλιος, du ὃ καὶ
χὰ 9 / \ Ν \ ϑ, Ν /
ἧττον οὗλον. φύσει δὲ TO μὲν πεδεινὸν καὶ τραχύ,
Ν > 2 XN \ cal 4 δὲ ¢ \ > “a
τὸ δ᾽ ὀρεινὸν καὶ λεῖον: ἔστε δὲ ἡ μὲν ἐν τοῖς
5) \
ὄρεσι φυομένη εὔχρους καὶ λεία καὶ στερεὰ καὶ
n \
γλίσχρα, ἡ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἄχρους Kal μανὴ καὶ
- \ > ξ > a \ / “
τραχεῖα. (τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον ὡς εἰπεῖν τὰ δένδρα ὅσα
καὶ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ ὄρει φύεται, τὰ μὲν
>? \ ” / ῃ Ν 7 Νὰ \ lal /
ὀρεινὰ εὔχροά τε Kal στερεὰ καὶ λεῖα γίνεται,
καθάπερ ὀξύη πτελέα τὰ ἄλλα: τὰ δὲ πεδεινὰ
, δὰ
μανότερα καὶ ἀχρούστερα καὶ χείρω, πλὴν ἀπίου
\ / Sy ae / ¢e ec \ \ Μ ΄
καὶ μηλέας καὶ ἀχράδος, ὡς οἱ περὶ τὸν ᾽Ολυμπόν
φασι: ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ κρείττω καὶ τῷ
καρπῷ καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις" ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ ὄρει
lal 5 / ΟΣ. , 3 ES 2 \ a
τραχεῖς Kal ἀκανθώδεις καὶ ὀζώδεις εἰσίν, ἐν δὲ TO
if N
πεδίῳ λειότεροι Kal μείζους καὶ TOV καρπὸν ἔχουσι
7 / 4 >
γλυκύτερον Kal σαρκωδέστερον' μεγέθει δὲ αἰεὶ
μείζω τὰ πεδεινά.)
, \ Ν A
XII. Kpaveias δὲ τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ,
ἃ \ \ / a »” Ν
ἣν δὴ καὶ θηλυκρανείαν καλοῦσιν. ἔχουσι δὲ
φύλλον μὲν ἀμυγδαλῇ ὅμοιον, πλὴν λιπωδέστερον
\ ’ὔ Ν 2 ᾽ ’ , Ν Ν
καὶ παχύτερον, φλοιὸν δ᾽ ἰνώδη λεπτόν' τὸ δὲ
/
στέλεχος ov παχὺ λίαν, ἀλλὰ παραφύει ῥάβδους
“ ” 2 4 \ e / \
ὥσπερ ἄγνος: ἐλάττους δὲ ἡ OnduKpaveia καὶ
A 5
θαμνωδέστερόν ἐστιν. τοὺς δὲ ὄξους ὁμοίως
a \
ἔχουσιν ἄμφω τῇ ἄγνῳ καὶ κατὰ δύο Kal κατ᾽
1 cf. Plin., l.c., and Index.
2 μεῖζον δὲ καὶ μανότερον conj. W. from G ; μ. δὲ καὶ μανότερα
MVU (? μανότερον) ; μείζων δὲ καὶ μακροτέρα Ald. Η,
232
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1. 4-xu 1
one ‘ash’ (manna-ash), the other ‘horse-ash?’ (ash,
The ‘horse-ash’ is a larger and more spreading”
tree, wherefore it is of less compact appearance.
It is naturally a tree of the plains and rough, while
the other belongs to the mountains and is smooth ὅ;
the one which grows on the mountains is fair-coloured
smooth hard and stunted, while that of the plains is
colourless spreading and rough. (In general one
may say of trees that grow in the plain and on the
mountain respectively, that the latter are of fair
colour hard and smooth,* as beech elm and the
rest; while those of the plain are more spreading,
of less good colour and inferior, except the pear
apple ® and wild pear, according to the people of
Mount Olympus. These when they grow in the
plain are better both in fruit and in wood; for on
the mountain they are rough spinous and much
branched, in the plain smoother larger and with
sweeter and fleshier fruit. However the trees of the
plain are always of larger size.)
Of cornelian cherry, cornel, ‘cedars,’ medlar, thorns, sorb.
> ᾽ 3 > >
XII. Of the cornelian cherry there is a‘ male’ and
a ‘female’ kind (cornel), and the latter bears a corre-
sponding name. Both have a leaf like that of the
almond, but oilier and thicker ; the bark is fibrous and
thin, the stem is not very thick, but it puts out side-
branches like the chaste-tree, those of the ‘female’
tree, which is more shrubby, being fewer. Both
kinds have branches like those of the chaste-tree,
3 καὶ tpaxd... λεῖον conj. Sch.; καὶ λεῖον .. . τραχὺ Ald.
4 χεῖα conj. Mold.; λευκὰ Ald.G.
® μηλέας conj. Scal., cf. ὃ. 3.2; μελίας UMAId.H.
235
THEOPHRASTUS
ἀλλήλους: το δὲ ξύλον TO μὲν τῆς κρανείας
ἀκάρδιον καὶ στερεὸν ὅλον, ὅμοιον κέρατι τὴν
πυκνότητα καὶ τὴν ἰσχύν, τὸ δὲ τῆς θηλυκρανείας
ἐντεριώνην ἔχον καὶ μαλακώτερον καὶ κοιλαινό-
μενον" δι’ ὃ καὶ ἀχρεῖον εἰς τὰ ἀκόντια. τὸ δ᾽
ὕψος τοῦ ἄρρενος δώδεκα μάλιστα πηχέων, ἡλίκη
τῶν σαρισσῶν ἡ μεγίστη" τὸ γὰρ ὅλον στέλεχος
ὕψος οὐκ ἴσχει. φασὶ δ᾽ οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ τῇ Τρωάδι
τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν ἄκαρπον. εἶναι τὸ δὲ θῆλυ κάρπιμον.
πυρῆνα δ᾽ ὁ καρπὸς ἔχει παραπλήσιον ἐλάᾳ, καὶ
ἐσθιόμενος γλυκὺς καὶ εὐώδης: ἄνθος δὲ ὅμοιον
τῷ τῆς ἐλάας, καὶ ἀπανθεῖ δὲ καὶ καρποφορεῖ
τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ ἐξ ἑνὸς μίσχου πλείους
ἔχειν, σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τοῖς χρόνοις παραπλησίως.
οἱ δ᾽ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ καρποφορεῖν μὲν ἄμφω φασὶν
τὸν δὲ τῆς θηλείας ἄβρωτον εἶναι: τὰς ῥίζας δ᾽
ὁμοίας ἔχει ταῖς ἄγνοις ἰσχυρὰς καὶ ἀνωλέθρους.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ περὶ τὰ ἔφυδρα καὶ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς
ξηροῖς μόνον: φύεται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρματος καὶ
ἀπὸ παρασπάδος.
Κέδρον δὲ οἱ μέν φασιν εἶναι διττήν, τὴν μὲν
Λυκίαν τὴν δὲ Φοινικῆν, οἱ δὲ ᾿μονοειδῆ, καθάπερ
οἱ ἐν τῇ 15n. παρόμοιον δὲ τῇ ἀρκεύθῳ, διαφέρει
δὲ μάλιστα τῷ φύλλῳ' τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς κέδρου
σκληρὸν καὶ ὀξὺ καὶ ἀκανθῶδες, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀρκεύθου
μαλακώτερον' δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ ὑψηλοφυέστερον εἶναι
ἡ ἄρκευθος" οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἔνιοί γε οὐ διαιροῦσι
1 The Idaeans are evidently responsible for this statement.
T. himself (3. 4. 3) says the fruit is inedible.
2 But (1. 11. 4) only certain varieties of the olive are said
to have this character: the next statement seems also incon-
sistent with 3. 4. 8. Perhaps T. is still reproducing his
Idaean authority.
234
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III, xu. 1-3
arranged in pairs opposite one another. The wovd
of the ‘male’ tree has no heart, but is hard through-
out, like horn in closeness and strength; whereas
that of the ‘female’ tree has heart-wood and is softer
and goes into holes; wherefore it is useless for
javelins. The height of the ‘male’ tree is at most
twelve cubits, the length of the longest Macedonian
spear, the stem up to the point where it divides
not being very tall. The people of Mount Ida
in the Troad say that the ‘male’ tree is barren,
but that the ‘female’ bears fruit. The fruit has a
stone like an olive and is sweet to the taste and
fragrant!; the flower is like that of the olive, and the
tree produces its flowers and fruit in the same manner,
inasmuch as it has several growing from one stalk,”
and they are produced at almost the same time
in both forms. However the people of Macedonia
say that both trees bear fruit, though that of the
‘female’ is uneatable, and the roots are like those of
the chaste-tree, strong and indestructible. This tree
grows in wet ground and not only? in dry places;
and it comes from seed, and also can be propagated
from a piece torn off.
4 The ‘cedar,’ some say, has two forms, the Lycian
and the Phoenician®; but some, as the people of
Mount Ida, say that there is only one form. It
resembles the arkeuthos (Phoenician cedar), differing
chiefly in the leaf, that of ‘cedar’ being hard sharp
and spinous, while that of arkeuthos is softer: the
latter tree also seems to be of taller growth. How-
ever some do not give them distinct names, but call
3 μόνον ins. R. Const. from G.
4 Plin. 13. 52. See Index κέδρος and ἄρκευθος.
δ Φοινικῆν : Φοινικικὴν con]. W. cf. 9. 2.3; Plin. lc.
235
THEOPHRASTUS
τοῖς ὀνόμασιν ἀλλ᾽ ἄμφω καλοῦσι κέδρους, πλὴν
παρασήμως τὴν κέδρον ὀξύκεδρον. ὀξώδη δ᾽
ἄμφω καὶ πολυμάσχαλα καὶ ἐπεστραμμένα ἔχον-
τα τὰ ξύλα: μήτραν δ᾽ ἡ μὲν ἄρκευθος ἔχει
μικρὰν καὶ πυκνὴν καὶ ὅταν κοπῇ ταχὺ σηπο-
μένην" ἡ δὲ κέδρος τὸ πλεῖστον ἐγκάρδιον καὶ
ἀσαπές, ἐρυθροκάρδια δ᾽ ἄμφω: καὶ ἡ μὲν τῆς
κέδρου εὐώδης ἡ δὲ τῆς ἑτέρας οὔ. καρπὸς δ᾽
ὁ μὲν τῆς κέδρου ξανθὸς μύρτου μέγεθος ἔχων
εὐώδης ἡδὺς ἐσθίεσθαι. ὁ δὲ τῆς ἀρκεύθου τὰ
μὲν ἄλλα ὅμοιος, μέλας δὲ καὶ στρυφνὸς καὶ
ὥσπερ ἄβρωτος: διαμένει δ᾽ εἰς ἐνιαυτόν, εἶθ᾽
ὅταν ἄλλος ἐπιφυῇ ὁ περυσινὸς ἀποπίπτει. ὡς
δὲ οἱ ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ λέγουσι, τρεῖς ἅμα καρποὺς
ἴσχει, τόν τε περυσινὸν οὔπω πέπονα καὶ
τὸν προπερύσινον ἤδη πέπονα καὶ ἐδώδιμον
καὶ τρίτον τὸν νέον ὑποφαίνει. ἔφη δὲ Σάτυρος
καὶ κομίσαι. τοὺς ὀρεοτύπους αὐτῷ ἀνανθεῖς ἄμφω.
τὸν δὲ φλοιὸν ὅμοιον ἔχει κυπαρίττῳ τραχύτερον
δέ: ῥίζας δὲ μανὰς ἀμφότεραι καὶ ἐπιπολαίους.
φύονται περὶ τὰ πετρώδη καὶ χειμέρια καὶ τούτους
τοὺς τόπους ζητοῦσι.
Μεσπίλης δ᾽ ἐστὶ τρία γένη, ἀνθηδὼν σατά-
VELOS ἀνθηδονοειδής, ὡς οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην διαι-
ροῦσι. φέρει δὲ ἡ μὲν σατάνειος τὸν καρπὸν
μείξω καὶ λευκότερον καὶ χαυνότερον καὶ τοὺς
πυρῆνας ἔχοντα μαλακωτέρους: αἱ δ᾽ ἕτεραι
1 παρασήμως τὴν κέδρον U; π. τὸν κέδρον Μ; Ald. omits the
article ; . παρασημασίᾳ κέδρου con}. W.
* μήτραν conj. Sch.; μᾶλλον UMVAId. Plin., 16. 198, sup-
ports μήτραν : he apparently read μήτραν δ᾽ ἡ μὲν “ἃ. ἔχει μᾶλλον
236
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xu. 3-5
them both ‘cedar,’ distinguishing them however as
‘the cedar’! and ‘ prickly cedar.’ Both are branching
trees with many joints and twisted wood. On the
other hand arkeuthos has only a small amount of
close core,? which, when the tree is cut, soon rots,
while the trunk of ‘cedar’ consists mainly of heart
and does not rot. The colour of the heart in each
case is red: that of the ‘cedar’ is fragrant, but not
that of the other. The fruit of ‘cedar’ is yellow,
as large as the myrtle-berry, fragrant, and sweet
to the taste. That of arkeuthos is like it in
other respects, but black, of astringent taste and
practically uneatable; it remains on the tree for a
year, and then, when another grows, last year’s fruit
falls off. According to the Arcadians it has three
fruits on the tree at once, last year’s, which is not
yet ripe, that of the year before last which is now
ripe and eatable, and it also shews the new fruit.
Satyrus® said that the wood-cutters gathered him
specimens of both kinds which were flowerless. The
bark 15 5 like that of the cypress but rougher. Both ὃ
kinds have spreading shallow roots. These trees
grow in rocky cold parts and seek out such districts.
6 There are three kinds of mespile, anthedon
(oriental thorn), sataneios (medlar) and anthedonoeides
(hawthorn), as the people of mount Ida distinguish
them. ‘The fruit of the medlar is larger paler
more spongy and contains softer stones; in the other
πυκνήν ; but the words καὶ ὅταν... σηπομένην (which P. does
not render) seem inconsistent. ? ins. οὐ before ταχὺ Sch.
3 2? An enquirer sent out by the Lyceum: see Intr. p. xxi.
4 ἔχει conj. W.; ἐδόκει Ald.
5 ἀμφότεραι conj. W.; ἀμφοτέρας U; ἀμφοτέρους Ald. H.
6 Plin. 15. 84.
ἴτε]: ΟἽ. 8. Ὁ; Ὁ. 14. 4} 6: 16:1.
237
THEOPHRASTUS
ἐλάττω τέ τι καὶ εὐωδέστερον καὶ στρυφνότερον :
ὥστε δύνασθαι πλείω χρόνον θησαυρίξεσθαι.
πυκνότερον δὲ καὶ τὸ ξύλον τούτων καὶ ξανθότερον,
τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα ὅμοιον. τὸ δ᾽ ἄνθος πασῶν ὅμοιον
ἀμυγδαλῇ, πλὴν οὐκ ἐρυθρὸν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο ἀλλ᾽
ἐγχλωρότερον. ee + μεγέθει μέγα τὸ δένδρον
καὶ περίκομον. φύλλον δὲ προ βἐνμέπ πράξιοςς Ἢ
πολυσχιδὲς δὲ καὶ ἐν ἄκρῳ σελινοειδές, τὸ =
ἐπὶ TOV παλαιοτέρων πολυσχιδὲς σφόδρα καὶ
ἐγγωνοειδὲς μείξοσι σχίσμασι, τετανὸν ἰνῶδες
λεπτότερον σελίνου καὶ προμηκέστερον καὶ τὸ
ὅλον καὶ τὰ σχίσματα, περικεχαραγμένον δὲ
ὅλον: μίσχον δ᾽ ἔχει λεπτὸν μακρόν: πρὸ τοῦ
φυλλορροεῖν δ᾽ ἐρυθραίνεται σφόδρα. πολύρριξον
δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ βαθύρριξον' δι’ ὃ καὶ χρόνιον
καὶ δυσώλεθρον. καὶ τὸ ξύλον ἔχει πυκνὸν καὶ
στερεὸν καὶ ἀσαπές. φύεται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρ-
ματος καὶ ἀπὸ παρασπάδος. νόσημα δὲ αὐτῶν
ἐστιν ὥστε γηράσκοντα σκωληκόβρωτα γίνεσθαι"
Kal οἱ σκώληκες μεγάλοι καὶ ἴδιοι ἢ οἱ ἐκ τῶν
δένδρων τῶν ἄλλων.
Τῶν δ᾽ οἰῶν δύο γένη ποιοῦσι, τὸ μὲν δὴ
καρποφόρον θῆλυ τὸ δὲ ἄρρεν ἄκαρπον" οὐ μὴν
ἀλλὰ διαφέρουσι τοῖς ,καρποῖς, τῷ τὰς μὲν
στρογγύλον τὰς δὲ προμήκη τὰς δ᾽ ὠοειδῆ φέρειν.
διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς χυλοῖς" ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ
1 ἐλάττω τέ τι conj. W.; ἐλάττω εἰσὶ UAId.
2 W. suggests that some words are missing here, as it does
not appear to which kind of μεσπίλη the following descrip-
tion belongs ; hence various difficulties. See Sch.
4 Probably a lacuna in the text. W. thus supplies the
sense: he suggests σικυοειδές for σελινοειδές.
238
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xu. 5-6
kinds it is somewhat smaller,! more fragrant and of
more astringent taste, so that it can be stored for a
longer time. The wood also of these kinds is closer
and yellower, though in other respects it does not
differ. The flower in all the kinds is like the almond
flower, except that it is not pink, as that is, but
PTECHISH tes ὁ οἷς 2. In stature the tree is large and it
has thick foliage. The leaf in the young tree is
round ® but much divided and like celery at the tip;
but the leaf of older trees is very much divided and
forms angles with larger divisions; it is smooth ‘
fibrous thinner and more oblong than the celery
leaf, both as a whole and in its divisions, and it has
a jagged edge all round.’ It has a long thin stalk,
and the leaves turn bright red before they are shed.
The tree has many roots, which run deep ; wherefore
it lives a long time and is hard to kill. The wood
is close and hard and does not rot. The tree grows
from seed and also from a piece torn off. It is
subject to a disease which causes it to become worm-
eaten® in its old age, and the worms are large
and different’ to those engendered by other trees.
8Of the sorb they make two kinds, the ‘female’
which bears fruit and the ‘male’ which is barren.
There are moreover differences in the fruit of the
‘female’ kind; in some forms it is round, in others
oblong and egg-shaped. There are also differences
4 ceravov: ef. 3. 11. 1; 3. 15. 6.
5 περικεχαραγμένον conj. Scal.; περικεθαρμένον U3 περικεκαρ-
Herr inca cf. allusions to the leaf of μεσπίλη, 3. 13. 1;
6 cf. 4. 14.10; Plin. 17. 221; Pall. 4. 10.
7 ἴδιοι Ald. (for construction cf. Plat. Gorg. 481 0); ἰδίους
UMV (the first « corrected in U). W. adopts Sch.’s conj.,
ἡδίους, in allusion to the edible cossus: ef. Plin. ἐ. 6.
8 Plin. 15. 85.
2590
THEOPHRASTUS
πᾶν εὐωδέστερα και γλυκύτερα τὰ στρογγύλα,
τὰ δ᾽ ὠοειδῆ πολλάκις ἐστὶν ὀξέα καὶ ἧττον
εὐώδη. φύλλα δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν. κατὰ μίσχον μακρὸν
ἰνοειδῆ πεφύκασι “στοιχηδὸν ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων
πτερυγοειδῶς, ὡς ἑνὸς ὄντος τοῦ ὅλου λοβοὺς δὲ
ἔχοντος ἐσχισμένους ἕως τῆς ἰνός" πλὴν διεστᾶσιν
ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν ὑπόσυχνον τὰ κατὰ μέρος" φυλλο-
βολεῖ δὲ οὐ κατὰ μέρος ἀλλὰ ὅλον ἅμα τὸ
πτερυγῶδες. εἰσὶ δὲ περὶ μὲν τὰ παλαιότερα
καὶ μακρότερα πλείους αἱ συζυγίαι, περὶ δὲ τὰ
νεώτερα καὶ βραχύτερα ἐλάττους, πάντων δὲ ἐ ἐπ᾽
ἄκρου τοῦ μίσχου φύλλον περιττόν, ὥστε καὶ
πάντ᾽ εἶναι περιττά. τῷ δὲ σχήματι δαφνοειδῇ
τῆς λεπτοφύλλου, πλὴν χαραγμὸν ἔχοντα καὶ
βραχύτερα καὶ οὐκ εἰς ὀξὺ τὸ ἄκρον συνῆκον
ἀλλ᾽ εἰς περιφερέστερον. ἄνθος δὲ ἔχει βοτρυ-
ὥδες ἀπὸ μιᾶς κορύνης ἐκ πολλῶν μικρῶν καὶ
λευκῶν συγκείμενον. καὶ ὁ ὁ καρπὸς ὅταν εὐκαρπῇ
βοτρυώδης" πολλὰ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς κορύνης,
ὥστ᾽ εἶναι καθάπερ κηρίον. σκωληκόβορος ἐπὶ
τοῦ δένδρου ὁ καρπὸς ἄπεπτος ὧν ἔτι γίνεται
μᾶλλον τῶν μεσπίλων καὶ ἀπίων καὶ ἀχράδων'
καίτοι πολὺ στρυφνότατος. γίνεται δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ
τὸ δένδρον σκωληκόβρωτον καὶ οὕτως αὐαινεται
γηράσκον" καὶ ὁ σκώληξ ἴδιος ἐρυθρὸς δασύς.
καρποφορεῖ δ᾽ ἐπιεικῶς νέα" τριετὴς γὰρ εὐθὺς
φύει. τοῦ μετοπώρου δ᾽ ὅταν ἀποβάλῃ τὸ φύλλον,
εὐθὺς ἴσχει τὴν καχρυώδη κορύνην λιπαρὰν καὶ
1 φύλλα... στοιχηδὸν conj. W.; φύλλον δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν τὸ μὲν
μίσχον μακρὸν ἰνοειδῆ: med. [δὲ] στοιχηδὸν UMVAId.
2 ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν (=a7’ ἀλλήλων) conj. Scal.; ἀπ’ αὐτῶν U:
W., who however renders inter se.
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1. 6-8
in taste ; the round fruits are generally more fragrant
and sweeter, the oval ones are often sour and less
fragrant. The leaves in both grow attached to a
long fibrous stalk, and project on each side in a row!
like the feathers of a bird’s wing, the whole forming
a single leaf but being divided into lobes with
divisions which extend to the rib; but each pair are
some distance apart,? and, when the leaves fall,’
these divisions do not drop separately, but the whole
wing-like structure drops at once. When the
leaves are older and longer, the pairs are more
numerous; in the younger and shorter leaves they
are fewer; but in all at the end of the leaf-stalk there
is an extra leaflet, so that the total number of leaflets
is an odd number. In form the leaflets resemble 4
the leaves of the ‘fine-leaved’ bay, except that they
are jagged and shorter and do not narrow to a sharp
point but to a more rounded end. The flower ® is
clustering and made up of a number of small white
blossoms from a single knob. The fruit too is
clustering, when the tree fruits well; for a number
of fruits are formed from the same knob, giving an
appearance like a honeycomb. The fruit gets eaten
by worms on the tree before it is ripe to a greater
extent than that of medlar pear or wild pear, and
yet it is much more astringent than any of these.
The tree itself also gets worm-eaten, and so withers
away as it ages; and the worm ® which infests it is a
peculiar one, red and hairy. This tree bears fruit
when it is quite young, that is as soon as it is three
years old. In autumn, when it has shed its leaves,
it immediately produces its winter-bud-like knob,’
> Plin, 16.592: 4 For construction cf. 3. 11. 3.
Σ ¢.e, inflorescence. ¢ Plin. 17. 221: CPST Ὁ: δ᾽
241
THEOPHRASTUS
ἐπωδηκυῖαν ὡσὰν ἤδη βλαστικόν, καὶ διαμένει
τὸν χειμῶνα. ἀνάκανθον δέ ἐστι καὶ ἡ οἴη καὶ
ἡ μεσπίλη: φλοιὸν δ᾽ ἔχει λεῖον ὑπολίπαρον,
ὅσαπερ μὴ γεράνδρυα, τὴν δὲ χρόαν ξανθὸν
ἐπιλευκαίνοντα' τὰ δὲ γεράνδρυα τραχὺν. καὶ
μέλανα. τὸ δὲ δένδρον εὐμέγεθες ὀρθοφυὲς
εὔρυθμον τῇ Kop σχεδὸν yap ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ
στροβιλοειδὲς σχῆμα λαμβάνει κατὰ τὴν κόμην,
ἐὰν μή τι ἐμποδίσῃ. τὸ δὲ ξύλον στερεὸν πυκνὸν
ἰσχυρὸν εὔχρουν, ῥίζας δὲ οὐ πολλὰς μὲν οὐδὲ
κατὰ βάθους, ἰσχυρὰς δὲ καὶ παχείας καὶ ἀνω-
λέθρους ἔχει. φύεται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ ῥίξης καὶ ἀπὸ
παρασπάδος καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρματος" τόπον δὲ ζητεῖ
ψυχρὸν ἔνικμον, φιλόζωον δ᾽ ἐν τούτῳ καὶ
δυσώλεθρον: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ φύεται ἐν τοῖς
ὄρεσιν.
XIII. Ἴδιον δὲ τῇ φύσει δένδρον ὁ κέρασός
ἐστι: μεγέθει μὲν μέγα: καὶ γὰρ εἰς τέτταρας
καὶ εἴκοσι πήχεις" ἔστε δ᾽ ὀρθοφυὲς σφύδρα'
πάχος δὲ ὥστε καὶ δίπηχυν τὴν περίμετρον ἀπὸ
τῆς ῥίξης ἔχειν. φύλλον δ᾽ ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς
μεσπίλης σκληρὸν δὲ σφόδρα καὶ παχύτερον,
ὥστε τῇ χροιᾷ πόρρωθεν φανερὸν εἶναι τὸ δένδρον.
φλοιὸν δὲ τὴν λειότητα καὶ τὴν χρόαν καὶ τὸ
πάχος ὅμοιον φιλύρᾳ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τὰς κίστας ἐξ
αὐτοῦ ποιοῦσιν ὥσπερ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τῆς φιλύρας.
περιπέφυκε δὲ οὗτος οὔτε ὀρθοφυὴς οὔτε κύκλῳ
κατ᾽ ἶσον, ἀλλ᾽ ἑλικηδὸν περιείληφε κάτωθεν ἄνω
1 ὅσαπερ μὴ conj. Bod.; ὥσπερ τὰ Ald.; ὥστε τὰ Μ.
2 κόμην Ald.H.; κορυφὴν conj. Sch.; vertice G.
* Phin 160125 ΟΠ ΟΣ 172 2
+ παχύτερον : so quoted by Athen. 2. 34; πλατύτερον MSS
242
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IT. xm. 8—xin. 1
which is glistening and swollen as though the tree
were just about to burst into leaf, and this persists
through the winter. The sorb, like the medlar, is
thornless; it has smooth rather shiny bark, (except
when! the tree is old), which in colour is a whitish
yellow; but in old trees it is rough and black. The
tree is of a good size, of erect growth and with well
balanced foliage; for in general it assumes a cone-
like shape as to its foliage,’ unless something inter-
feres. ‘The wood is hard close strong and of a good
colour; the roots are not numerous and do not run
deep, but they are strong and thick and inde-
structible. The tree grows from a root, from a piece
torn off, or from seed, and seeks a cold moist position ;
in such a position it is tenacious of life and hard to
kill: however it also grows on mountains.
Of bird-cherry, elder, willow.
XIII. ?The kerasos (bird-cherry) is peculiar in
character; it is of great stature, growing as much as
twenty-four cubits high; and it is of very erect
growth ; as to thickness, it is as much as two cubits
in circumference at the base. The leaves are like
those of the medlar, but very tough and thicker,‘ so
that the tree is conspicuous by its colour from a
distance. The bark ὃ insmoothness colour and thick-
ness is like that of the lime; wherefore men make
their writing-cases ὅ from it, as from the bark of that
tree. 7This bark does not grow straight nor evenly
Αἱ] round the tree, but runs round it® in a spiral
5 cf. 4. 15. 1; Hesych. s.v. κέρασος.
8 cf. 3. 10.4; Ar. Vesp. 529.
7 περιπέφυκε. .. περιπεφυκός : text as restored by Sch. and
others, following U as closely as possible.
8 περιείληφε conj. R. Const.
243
4
THEOPHRASTUS
προσάγων, ὥσπερ ἡ διαγραφὴ τῶν φύλλων: και
λοπιζόμενος οὗτος ἐγδέρεται, ἐκεῖνος δ᾽ ἐπίτομος
γίνεται καὶ οὐ δύναται" μέρος δ᾽ αὐτοῦ τι τὸν
αὐτὸν τρόπον ἀφαιρεῖται κατὰ πάχος σχιζόμενον
λεπτὸν ὡς ἂν φύλλον, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν προσμένειν
τε δύναται καὶ σώξει τὸ δένδρον ὡσαύτως περι-
πεφυκός. περιαιρουμένου δὲ ὅταν omg τοῦ
φλοιοῦ συνεκραίνει καὶ τότε τὴν ὑγρότητα: καὶ
ὅταν ὁ ἔξω χιτὼν περιαιρεθῇ, μ όνον ὁ ὑπολιπὴς
ἐπιμελαίνεται. ὥσπερ μυξώ εἰ ὑγρασίᾳ, καὶ πάλιν
ὑποφύεται τῷ δευτέρῳ ἔτει χιτὼν aos ἀντ᾽
ἐκείνου πλὴν λεπτότερος. πέφυκε καὶ τὸ ξύλον
ὅμοιον ταῖς ἰσὶ τῷ φλοιῷ στρεπτῶς ἑλιττόμενον"
καὶ οἱ ῥάβδοι φύονται τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον εὐθύς"
τοὺς ὄζους δ᾽ αὐξανομένου συμβαίνει τοὺς μὲν
κάτω ἀεὶ ἀπόλλυσθαι τοὺς 8 ἄνω αὔξειν. τὸ δ᾽
ὅλον οὐ πολύοζον τὸ δένδρον ἀλλ᾽ ἀνοζότερον
πολὺ τῆς αἰγείρου. πολύρριζον δὲ καὶ ἐπι-
πολαιόρριξζον οὐκ ἄγαν δὲ παχύρριζον' ἡ δ᾽
ἐπιστροφὴ cal τῆς ῥίζης Kal τοῦ φλοιοῦ τοῦ περὶ
αὐτὴν ἡ αὐτή. ἄνθος δὲ λευκὸν ἀπίῳ καὶ μεσπίλῃ
ὅμοιον, ἐκ “μικρῶν ἀνθῶν συγκείμενον κηριῶδες.
ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἐρυθρὸς ὅμοιος διοσπύρῳ τὸ σχῆμα,
τὸ δὲ “μέγεθος ἡλίκον κύαμος, πλὴν. τοῦ διοσπύρου
μὲν ὁ πυρὴν σκληρὸς τοῦ δὲ κεράσου μαλακός.
φύεται δ᾽ ὅπου καὶ ἡ φίλυρα, τὸ δὲ ὅλον ὅπου
ποταμοὶ καὶ ἔφυδρα.
Φύεται δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀκτὴ μάλιστα παρ᾽ ὕδωρ καὶ
1 Which is an ellipse, the segment of a cylinder: so Sch.
explains.
ἐκεῖνος : ἴ,6. lower down the trunk, where the spiral is
less open. 3 érlrouos: ef. 5. 1. 12.
244
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xm. 1-4
(which becomes closer as it gets higher up the tree)
like the outline of the leaves! And this part of
it can be stripped off by peeling, whereas with the
other part? this is not possible and it has to be cut
in short lengths. In the same manner part is
removed by being split off in flakes as thin as a leaf,
while the rest can be left and protects the tree, grow-
ing about it as described. If the bark is stripped off
when the tree is peeling, there is also at the time a
discharge of the sap; further, when only the outside
coat is stripped off, what remains turns black with a
kind‘ of mucus-like moisture; and in the second
year another coat grows to replace what is lost, but
this is thinner. The wood in its fibres is like the
bark, twisting spirally,°> and the branches grow in
the same manner from the first; and, as the tree
grows, it comes to pass that the lower branches keep
on perishing, while the upper ones increase. How-
ever the whole tree is not much branched, but has
far fewer branches than the black poplar. Its roots
are numerous and shallow and not very thick; and
there is a similar twisting of the root and of the bark
which surrounds it. ©The flower is white, like that
of the pear and medlar, composed of a number of
small blossoms arranged like a honeycomb. The
fruit is red, like that of diospyros in shape, and in size
it is as large as a bean. However the stone of the
diospyros fruit is hard, while that of the bird-cherry
is soft. The tree grows where the lime grows, and
in general where there are rivers and damp places.
7The elder also grows chiefly by water and in shady
4 ὥσπερ conj. Sch.; περ MV; πως Ald.H.
5 στρεπτῶς ἑλιττόμενον conj. Sch.; στρεπτῷ ἑλιττομένωι U;
στρεπτῷ ἑλιττομένῳ Ald. Cf: 3: 19: η: 7 Pliny 7.151:
245
THEOPHRASTUS
ἐν τοῖς σκιεροῖς, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ Kal ἐν τοῖς μὴ
τοιούτοις" θαμνῶδες δὲ ῥάβδοις ἐπετείοις αὐξα-
νομέναις μέχρι τῆς φυλλορροίας εἰς μῆκος, εἶτα
μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς πάχος" τὸ δὲ ὕψος τῶν ῥάβδων
οὐ μέγα λίαν ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλιστα ὡς ἑξάπηχυ'
τῶν δὲ στελεχῶν πάχος τῶν γερανδρύων ὅσον
περικεφαλαίας, φλοιὸς δὲ λεῖος λεπτὸς καπυρός'
τὸ δὲ ξύλον “χαῦνον καὶ κοῦφον ξηρανθέν, ἐν-
τεριώνην δὲ ἔχον μαλακήν, ὥστε δι’ ὅλου καὶ
κοιλαίνεσθαι τὰς ῥάβδους, ἐξ ὧν καὶ τὰς ᾿βακτη-
ρίας ποιοῦσι τὰς κούφας. ξηρανθὲν δὲ ὦ ἰσχυρὸν
καὶ ἀγήρων ἐὰν βρέχηται, κἂν 7 λελοπισμένον'
λοπίζεται δὲ αὐτόματον ξηραινόμενον. ῥίξας δὲ
ἔχει μετεώρους οὐ πολλὰς δὲ οὐδὲ μεγάλας.
φύλλον. δὲ τὸ μὲν καθ᾽ ἕκαστον μαλακόν, πρό-
μῆκες ὡς τὸ τῆς πλατυφύλλου δάφνης, μεῖζον
δὲ καὶ πλατύτερον καὶ περιφερέστερον ἐκ μέσου
καὶ κάτωθεν, τὸ δ᾽ ἄκρον εἰς ὀξὺ μᾶλλον συνῆκον
κύκλῳ δ᾽ ἔχον χαραγμόν' τὸ δὲ ὅλον, περὶ ἕνα
μίσχον “παχὺν καὶ ἰνώδη, ὡσὰν κλωνίον τὰ μὲν
ἔνθεν τὰ δὲ ἔνθεν κατὰ γόνυ καὶ συζυγίαν πεφύ-
κασι τῶν φύλλων διέχοντα ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων, ἕν δὲ
ἐξ ἄκρου τοῦ μίσχου. ὑπέρυθρα δὲ τὰ φύλλα
ἐπιεικῶς καὶ χαῦνα καὶ σαρκώδη: “φυλλορροεῖ
δὲ τοῦτο ὅλον, διόπερ φύλλον ἄν τις εἴποι τὸ ὅλον.
ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ κλῶνες οἱ νέοι γωνοειδῆ τινα.
τὸ δ᾽ ἄνθος λευκὸν ἐκ μικρῶν λευκῶν πολλῶν
ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ μίσχου σχίσει κηριῶδες: εὐωδίαν
1 περικεφαλαίας, some part of ἃ ship’s prow: so Pollux.
2 καπυρός conj. Sch.; καὶ πυρσός U () ; καὶ πυρρός V3 καὶ
πουρός Μ. 3 Sc. pith.
246
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xt. 4-6
places, but likewise in places which are not of this
character. It is shrubby, with annual branches which
go on growing in length till the fall of the leaf, after
which they increase in thickness. The branches do
not grow to a very great height, about six cubits at
most. The thickness of the stem of old trees is
about that of the ‘helmet’! of a ship; the bark is
smooth thin and brittle?; the wood is porous and
light when dried, and has a soft heart-wood,? so that
the boughs are hollow right through, and men make
of them their light walking-sticks. When dried it is
strong and durable if it is soaked, even if it is stripped
of the bark; and it strips itself of its own accord as it
dries. The roots are shallow and neither numerous
nor large. The single leaflet is soft and oblong, like
the leaf of the ‘broad-leaved’ bay, but larger broader
and rounder at the middle and base, though the tip
narrows more to a point and is jagged# all round.
The whole leaf is composed of leaflets growing about
a single thick fibrous stalk, as it were, to which they
are attached at either side in pairs at each joint;
and they are separate from one another, while one
is attached to the tip of the stalk. The leaves are
somewhat reddish porous and fleshy: the whole is
shed in one piece ; wherefore one may consider the
whole structure as ἃ ‘leaf.’5 The young twigs too
have certain crooks® in them. ‘The flower’ is white,
made up of a number of small white blossoms
attached to the point where the stalk divides,
in form like a honeycomb, and it has the heavy
4 χαραγμόν conj. R. Const. from G; παραγμόν UMV;
σπαραγμόν Ald. 11]. 3. τὸ
8 γωνοειδὴ ἴ; 1 γωνιοειδῆ ; G seems to have read γονατοειδῇ ;
Sch. considers the text defective or mutilated.
7.7. 5. 19. 7 πὶ
247
s
THEOPHRASTUS
δὲ ΝΜ , ᾽ a ” \ \ \
é ἔχει λειριώδη ἐπιβαρεῖαν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὸν
καρπὸν ὁμοίως πρὸς ἑνὶ μίσχῳ παχεῖ βοτρυώδη
δέ: γίνεται δὲ καταπεπαινόμενος μέλας, ὠμὸς δὲ
x > , , \ A ΄, ΓΕ
ὧν ὀμφακώδης" μεγέθει δὲ μικρῷ μείζων dpoSov:
τὴν ὑγρασίαν δὲ οἰνώδη τῇ ὄψει" καὶ τὰς χεῖρας
PS / \ \ / » \
τελειούμενοι βάπτονται καὶ Tas κεφαλάς" ἔχει δὲ
καὶ τὰ ἐντὸς σησαμοειδῆ τὴν ὄψιν.
Πάρυδρον δὲ καὶ ἡ ἰτέα καὶ πολυειδές: ἡ μὲν
μέλαινα καλουμένη τῷ τὸν φλοιὸν ἔχειν μέλανα
lal \ A a
καὶ φοινικοῦν, ἡ δὲ λευκὴ TH λευκόν. καλλίους
\
δὲ ἔχει τὰς ῥάβδους καὶ χρησιμωτέρας εἰς τὸ
/ e i ς δὲ \ , »
πλέκειν ἡ μέλαινα, N δὲ λευκὴ καπυρωτέρας. ἔστι
a / fol na
δὲ καὶ τῆς μελαίνης καὶ τῆς λευκῆς ἔνιον γένος
μικρὸν καὶ οὐκ ἔχον αὔξησιν εἰς ὕψος, ὥσπερ καὶ
ἐπ᾿ ἄλλων τοῦτο δένδρων, οἷον κέδρου φοίνικος.
καλοῦσι δ᾽ οἱ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν οὐκ itéav ἀλλὰ
« / \ δέ ὃ A 7 δέ « > / θ \
ἑλίκην TO δένδρον' οἴονται δέ, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, καὶ
\ ,
καρπὸν ἔχειν αὐτὴν γόνιμον.
XIV. ἔστι δὲ τῆς πτελέας δύο γένη, καὶ τὸ μὲν
a \ r
ὀρειπτελέα καλεῖται TO δὲ TTEAEA* διαφέρει δὲ τῷ
θαμνωδέστερον εἶναι τὴν πτελέαν εὐαυξέστερον δὲ
ΟΝ , ΄ «5 \
τὴν ὀρειπτελέαν. φύλλον δὲ ἀσχιδὲς περικεχαραγ-
μένον ἡσυχῆ, προμηκέστερον δὲ τοῦ τῆς ἀπίου,
1 καταπεπαινόμενος conj. W.; καὶ rer, VAId.
2 kal... βάπτονται I conj., following Scal., W., etc., but
keeping closer to U: certain restoration perhaps impossible ;
καὶ Tas χεῖρας τελείους ἀναβλάστει δὲ καὶ Tas κεφαλάς U ; χεῖρας
δὲ τελείους: ἀναβλασεῖ MV; om. G.
8. Plin. 16. 174 and 175.
248
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xi. 6-x1v. 1
fragrance of lilies. The fruit is in like manner
attached to a single thick stalk, but in a cluster:
as it becomes quite ripe,! it turns black, but when
unripe it is like unripe grapes; in size the berry is a
little larger than the seed of a vetch; the juice is
like wine in appearance, and in it men bathe? their
hands and heads when they are being initiated into
the mysteries. The seeds inside the berry are like
sesame.
3 The willow also grows by the water, and there
are many kinds. There is that which is called
the black willow‘ because its bark is black and
red, and that which is called the white* from the
colour of its bark. The black kind has boughs
which are fairer and more serviceable for basket-
work, while those of the white are more brittle.®
There is a form both of the black and of the white
which is small and does not grow to a height,—just
as there are dwarf forms of other trees, such as
prickly cedar and palm. The people of Arcadia
call the tree® not ‘willow’ but helike: they believe,
as was said,’ that it bears fruitful seed.
Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, bladder-senna].
XIV. § Of the elm there are two kinds, of which
one is called the ‘mountain elm,’ the other simply
the ‘elm’: the difference is that the latter is
shrubbier, while the mountain elm grows more
vigorously. The leaf is undivided and_ slightly
jagged, longer than that of the pear, but rough
4 See Index.
> καπυρωτέρας conj. Sch.; καὶ πυρωτέρας U; καὶ muporépas
MVAId. ef. 3. 13. 4.
® Sc. ἰτέα generally, Cae ia Bae e Pliny 16.72:
249
THEOPHRASTUS
τραχυ δὲ και οὐ λεῖον. μέγα δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ
τῷ ὕψει καὶ τῷ μεγέθει. πολὺ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι περὶ
τὴν Ἴδην ἀλλὰ σπάνιον" τόπον δὲ ἔφυδρον φιλεῖ.
τὸ δὲ ξύλον. ξανθὸν καὶ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ εὔινον καὶ
γλίσχρον" ἅπαν γὰρ καρδία: χρῶνται δ᾽ αὐτῷ
καὶ πρὸς θυρώματα πολυτελῆ, καὶ χλωρὸν μὲν
εὔτομον ξηρὸν δὲ δύστομον. ἄκαρπον δὲ νομί-
ζουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ταῖς κωρυκίσι TO κόμμι καὶ Onpi
ἄττα κωνωποειδῆ φέρει. τὰς δὲ κάχρυς ἰδίας
ἴσχει τοῦ μετοπώρου πολλὰς καὶ μικρὰς καὶ
μελαίνας, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἄλλαις ὥραις οὐκ ἐπέ-
σκεπται.
Ἡ δὲ λεύκη καὶ ἡ αἴγειρος μονοειδής, ὀρθοφυῆ
δὲ ἄμφω, πλὴν μακρότερον πολὺ καὶ "μανότερον
καὶ λειότερον ἡ αἴγειρος, τὸ δὲ σχῆμα τῶν φύλλων
παρόμοιον. ὅμοιον δὲ καὶ τὸ ξύλον τεμνόμενον
τῇ λευκότητι. καρπὸν δ᾽ οὐδέτερον τούτων οὐδὲ
ἄνθος ἔ ἔχειν δοκεῖ.
‘H κερκὶς δὲ παρόμοιον τῇ λεύκῃ Kal TO μεγέθει
καὶ τῷ τοὺς κλάδους ἐπιλεύκους ἔχειν: τὸ δὲ
φύλλον κιττῶδες μὲν ἀγώνιον δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἄλλου,
τὴν δὲ μίαν προμήκη καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ συνήκουσαν" τῷ
δὲ χρώματι σχεδὸν ὅμοιον τὸ ὕπτιον καὶ τὸ
πρανές" μίσχῳ ὲ προσηρτημένον μακρῷ καὶ
λεπτῷ, δι᾿ ὃ καὶ οὐκ ὀρθὸν ἀλλ᾽ ἐγκεκλιμένον.
φλοιὸν δὲ τραχύτερον. τῆς λεύκης “καὶ μᾶλλον
ὑπόλεπρον, ὥσπερ ὁ τῆς ἀχράδος. ἄκαρπον δέ.
Μονογενὲς δὲ καὶ ἡ κλήθρα' φύσει δὲ καὶ
Ἰ γλίσχρον conj. St.; αἰσχρόν Ald.H. ef. ὅ. 3. 4.
ΞΟ] Oey Or τς
3 of. τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτυ, 3. 7.3; 2. 8. ὃ π.; 9. 1. 2
250
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xiv. 1-3
rather than smooth. The tree is large, being both
tall and wide-spreading. It is not common about
Ida, but rare, and likes wet ground. The wood is
yellow strong fibrous and tough!; for it is all heart.
Men use it for expensive doors”: it is easy to cut
when it is green, but difficult when it is dry. The
tree is thought to bear no fruit, but in the ‘ wallets ᾿ ὅ
it produces its gum and certain creatures like gnats ;
and it has in autumn its peculiar ‘ winter-buds’ 4
which are numerous small and black, but these have
not been observed at other seasons.
The abele and the black poplar have each but a
single kind: both are of erect growth, but the black
poplar is much taller and of more open growth, and
is smoother, while the shape of its leaves is similar
to those of the other. The wood also of both, when
cut, is much the same in whiteness. Neither of
these trees appears to have fruit or flower.5
The aspen is a tree resembling the abele both in
size and in having whitish branches, but the leaf
is ivy-like: while however it is otherwise without
angles, its one angular® projection is long and
narrows to a sharp point: in colour the upper and
under sides are much alike. The leaf is attached
to a long thin stalk: wherefore the leaf is not set
straight, but has a droop.’ The bark of the abele
is rougher and more scaly, like that of the wild pear,
and it bears no fruit.
The alder also has but one form: in growth it is
4 κάχρυς, here probably a gall, mistaken for winter-bud.
5 cf., however, 3. 3. 4; 4. 10. 2, where T. seems to follow a
different authority.
6 Supply γωνίαν from ἀγώνιον.
7 ἀγκεκλιμένον : sc. is not in line with the stalk,
251
THEOPHRASTUS
ὀρθοφυές, ξύλον δ᾽ ἔχον μαλακὸν καὶ ἐντεριώνην
μαλακήν, ὥστε δι᾽ ὅλου κοιλαίνεσθαι τὰς λεπτὰς
ῥάβδους. φύλλον δ᾽ ὅμοιον ἀπίω. πλὴν μεῖξον
καὶ ἰνωδέστερον. τραχύφλοιον δὲ καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς
ἔσωθεν ἐρυθρός, δι’ ὃ καὶ βάπτει τὰ δέρματα.
ῥίξας δὲ ἐπιπολαίους... ἡλίκον δάφνης. φύεται
δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐφύδροις ἀλλόθι δ᾽ οὐδαμοῦ.
[Σημύδα δὲ τὸ μὲν φύλλον ἔχει ὅμοιον τῇ
Περσικῇ καλουμένῃ καρύᾳ πλὴν μικρῷ στενότε-
ρον, τὸν φλοιὸν δὲ ποικίλον, ξύλον δὲ ἐλαφρόν"
χρήσιμον δὲ εἰς βακτηρίας μόνον εἰς ἄλλο δὲ
οὐδέν.
Ἢ δὲ κολυτέα ἔχει τὸ μὲν φύλλον ἐγγὺς τοῦ
τῆς ἰτέας, πολύοξον δὲ καὶ πολύφυλλον καὶ τὸ
δένδρον ὅλως μέγα: τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἔλλοβον,
καθάπερ τὰ “χεδροπά: λοβοῖς “γὰρ πλατέσι καὶ
οὐ στενοῖς τὸ σπερμάτιον τὸ ἐνὸν μικρὸν καὶ οὐ
μέγα: σκληρὸν δὲ μετρίως οὐκ ἄγαν" οὐδὲ πολύ-
καρπὸν. ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος. σπάνιον δὲ τὸ ἐν
λοβοῖς ἔχειν τὸν καρπόν" ὀλίγα γὰρ τοιαῦτα τῶν
δένδρων.]
XY. ‘A δὲ Ἡρακλεωτικὴ καρύα--φύσει γὰρ
καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἄγριον τῷ τε μηδὲν ἢ μὴ πολὺ
χείρω γίνεσθαι <i> TOV ἡμέρων TOV καρπόν, καὶ
τῷ δύνασθαι χειμῶνας ὑποφέρειν καὶ τῷ πολὺ
φύεσθαι κατὰ τὰ ὄρη καὶ πολύκαρπον ἐν τοῖς
ὀρείοις" ἔτι δὲ τῷ μηδὲ στελεχῶδες ἀλλὰ θαμ-
1 Part of the description of the flower, and perhaps of the
fruit, seems to be nS Sch.
2 of. 4.8.1; but in 1. 4.3 the alder is classed with ‘am-
phibious’ trees, and in 3. 3. 1 with ‘ trees of the plain.’
3 Betulam, G from Plin, 16, 74.
252
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1v. 3-xv. 1
also erect, and it has soft wood and a soft heart-wood,
so that the slender boughs are hollow throughout.
The leaf is like that of the pear, but larger and
more fibrous. It has rough bark, which on the inner
side is red: wherefore it is used for dyeing hides.
It has shallow roots...1 the flower is as large as
that of the bay. It grows in wet places? and
nowhere else.
The semyda?® has a leaf like that of the tree called
the ‘ Persian nut’ (walnut), but it is rather narrower :
the bark is variegated and the wood light: it is only
of use for making walking-sticks and for no other
purpose.
The bladder-senna‘ has a leaf near that of the
willow, but is many-branched and has much foliage ;
and the tree altogether is a large one. ‘The fruit is
in a pod, as in leguminous plants: the pods in fact
are broad rather than narrow, and the seed in them
is comparatively small, and is moderately hard, but
not so very hard. For its size the tree does not
bear much fruit. It is uncommon to have the fruit
in a pod; in fact there are few such trees.
Of filbert, terebinth, box, krataigos.
XV. The filbert is also naturally a wild tree, in that
its fruit is little, if at all, inferior to that of the tree
in cultivation, that it can stand winter, that it grows
commonly on the mountains, and that it bears
abundance of fruit in mountain regions ὃ ; also because
it does not make a trunk, but is shrubby with
4 Sch. remarks that the description of κολυτέα is out of
place: cf. 3.17.2. W. thinks the whole section spurious.
The antitheses in the latter part suggest a different context,
in which xoAvréa was described by comparison with some
other tree. 5 ὀρείοις conj. W.; φοραῖς Ald.
253
THEOPHRASTUS
νῶδες εἶναι ῥάβδοις ἄνευ μασχαλῶν καὶ ἀνόξοις
μακραῖς δὲ καὶ παχείαις ἐνίαις" —ov μὴν ἀλλὰ
καὶ ἐξημεροῦται. διαφορὰν δὲ ἔχει. τῷ τὸν
καρπὸν ἀποδιδόναι βελτίω καὶ μεῖζον τὸ φύλλον:
κεχαραγμένον δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν' ὁμοιότατον. τὸ τῆς
κλήθρας, πλὴν πλατύτερον καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ δένδρον
μεῖζον. καρπιμώτερον δ᾽ αἰεὶ γίνεται κατα-
κοπτόμενον τὰς ῥάβδους. γένη δὲ δύο ἀμφοῖν'
αἱ μὲν γὰρ στρο γγύλον αἱ δὲ πρόμακρον φέρουσι
τὸ καάρυον" EKNEVKOTEPOV δὲ TO TOV ἡμέρων. Kal
καλλικαρπεῖ μάλιστά γ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἐφύδροις. ἐξη-
μεροῦται δὲ τὰ ἄγρια μεταφυτευόμενα. φλοιὸν
δ᾽ ἔχει λεῖον ἐπιπόλαιον λεπτὸν λιπαρὸν ἰδίως
στιγμὰς λευκὰς ἔχοντα ἐν αὐτῷ' τὸ δὲ ξύλον
σφόδρα γλίσχρον, ὥστε καὶ τὰ λεπτὰ πάνυ ῥαβ-
ία περιλοπίσαντες κανξα ποιοῦσι, καὶ τὰ παχέα
δὲ καταξύσαντες. ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἐντεριώνην λεπτὴν
ξανθήν, 7 κοιλαίνεται. ἴδιον δ᾽ αὐτῶν τὸ περὶ
τὸν ἴουλον, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν.
Ths δὲ ᾿τερμίνθου τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ. τὸ
μὲν οὖν ἄρρεν ἄκαρπον, δ’ ὃ καὶ καλοῦσιν ἄρρεν'
τῶν δὲ θηλειῶν ἡ μὲν ἐρυθρὸν εὐθὺς φέρει τὸν
καρπὸν ἡλίκον φακὸν ἄπεπτον, ἡ δὲ χλοερὸν
ἐνέγκασα μετὰ ταῦτα ἐρυθραίνει, καὶ ἅμα τῇ
ἀμπέλῳ πεπαίνουσα τὸ ἔσχατον ποιεῖ μέλανα,
μέγεθος ἡλίκον κύαμον, ῥητινώδη δὲ καὶ θυω-
δέστερον. ἔστι δὲ τὸ δένδρον περὶ μὲν τὴν Ἴδην
καὶ Μακεδονίαν βραχὺ θαμνῶδες ἐστραμμένον,
περὶ δὲ Δαμασκὸν τῆς Συρίας μέγα καὶ πολὺ
καὶ καλόν: ὄρος γάρ τί φασιν εἶναι πάμμεστον
Ref. ClPo 212.6, 2 cf. Geop. 10. 68.
3 χεῖον conj. W.; πλέον UMVAId.
254
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv. 1-3
unbranched stems without knots; though some of
these are long and stout. Nevertheless it also submits
to cultivation. The cultivated form differs in produc-
ing better fruit and larger leaves; in both forms the
leaf has a jagged edge: the leaf of the alder most
closely resembles it, but is broader, and the tree itself
is bigger. 1 The filbert is always more fruitful if it
has its slender boughs cut off. ? There are two kinds
of each sort; some have a round, others an oblong
nut; that of the cultivated tree is paler, and it fruits
best in damp places. The wild tree becomes
cultivated by being transplanted. Its bark is smooth,?
consisting of one layer, thin glossy and with peculiar
white blotches on it. ‘The wood is extremely tough,
so that men make baskets even of the quite thin
twigs, having stripped them of their bark, and ot
the stout ones when they have whittled them. Also
it has a small amount of yellow heart-wood, which
makes‘ the branches hollow. Peculiar to these trees
is the matter of the catkin, as we mentioned.®
6 The terebinth has a ‘ male’ and a ‘ female’ form.
The ‘male’ is barren, which is why it is called
‘male’; the fruit of one of the ‘female’ forms is
red from the first and as large as an unripe’ lentil ;
the other produces a green fruit which subsequently
turns red, and, ripening at the same time as the
grapes, becomes eventually black and is as large as a
bean, but resinous and somewhat aromatic. About
Ida and in Macedonia the tree is low shrubby and
twisted, but in the Syrian Damascus, where it
abounds, it is tall and handsome; indeed they say
4 ἢ Ald.H.; ἡ W. with U. ef. 3. 13. 4.
Di Fay fails 6 Plin. 13. 54.
7 καὶ before ἄπεπτον om. St
255
THEOPHRASTUS
4 τερμίνθων, ἄλλο δ᾽ οὐδὲν πεφυκέναι. “ξύλον δὲ
ἔχει γλίσχρον καὶ pifas ἰσχυρὰς κατὰ βάθους,
καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἀνώλεθρον" ἄνθος δὲ ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς
ἐλάας, τῷ χρώματι δὲ ἐρυθρόν. φύλλον, περὶ
ἕνα μίσχον πλείω δαφνοειδῆ κατὰ συξυγίαν,
ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ "τῆς οἴης" καὶ τὸ ἐξ ἀ ἄκρου περιττόν"
πλὴν ἐγγωνιώτερον τῆς οἴης καὶ δαφνοειδέστερον
δὲ κύκλῳ καὶ λιπαρὸν ἅπαν ἅμα τῷ καρπῷ.
φέρει δὲ καὶ “κωρυκώδη τινὰ κοῖλα, καθάπερ ἡ
πτελέα, ἐν οἷς θηρίδια ἐγγίγνεται κωνωποειδῆ"
ἐγγίγνεται δέ τι καὶ ῥητινῶδες ἐν τούτοις καὶ
γλίσχρον' οὐ μὴν ἐνθεῦτέν γε ἡ ῥητίνη συλλέ-
γεται ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς οὐκ
ἀφίησι ῥητίνης πλῆθος, ἀλλὰ προσέχεται μὲν
ταῖς χερσί, κἂν μὴ πλυθῇ μετὰ τὴν συλλογὴν
συνέχεται" πλυνόμενος δὲ ὁ μὲν λευκὸς καὶ
ἄπεπτος ἐπιπλεῖ, ὁ δὲ μέλας ὑφίσταται.
5 ‘H δὲ πύξος ᾿μεγέθει μὲν οὐ μεγάλη, τὸ δὲ
φύλλον ὅμοιον ἔχει μυρρίνῳ. φύεται 8 ἐν τοῖς
ψυχροῖς τόποις καὶ τραχέσι' καὶ γὰρ τὰ Κύτωρα
ΤΡ τΝ οὗ ἡ πλείστη γίνεται" ψυχρὸς δὲ καὶ
Ὄλυμπος ὁ Maxedovixos: Kal yap ἐνταῦθα
γίνεται πλὴν οὐ μεγάλη: μεγίστη δὲ καὶ καλ-
λίστη ἐν Κύρνῳ: καὶ γὰρ εὐμήκεις καὶ πάχος
ἔχουσαι πολὺ παρὰ τὰς ἄλλας. δι’ ὃ καὶ τὸ
μέλι οὐχ ἡδὺ ὄζον τῆς πύξου.
1 πλείω : SC. φύλλα, in loose apposition to φύλλον. Ap-
parently the leaf is said to resemble that of οἴη in its compo-
site structure, but that of the bay in shape: ef. 3. 12. 7.
2 ἅπαν ἅμα conj.\W.; cae ἅπαν UAld.
wor. 2. By bh ἢ: 3; . 14.1. κωρυκώδη conj. R. Const.;
κορυώδη Ald.; πῶρυώδη τι 3 καρυώδη mBas.
256
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv. 3-5
that there is a certain hill which is covered with
terebinths, though nothing else grows on it. It has
tough wood and strong roots which run deep, and the
tree as a whole is impossible to destroy. The flower
is like that of the olive, but red in colour. The leaf
is made up of a number of leaflets,! like bay leaves,
attached in pairs to a single leaf-stalk. So far it
resembles the leaf of the sorb; there is also the
extra leaflet at the tip: but the leaf is more angular
than that of the sorb, and the edge resembles
more the leaf of the bay; the leaf is glossy all
over,? as is the fruit. It bears also some hollow
bag-like ® growths, like the elm, in which are found
little creatures like gnats; and resinous sticky
matter is found also in these bags; but the resin is
gathered from the wood and not from these. The
fruit does not discharge much resin, but it clings to
the hands, and, if it is not washed after gathering, it
all sticks together ; if it is washed, the part which is
white and unripe floats,’ but the black part sinks.
The box is not a large tree, and it has a leaf like
that of the myrtle. It grows in cold rough places ;
for of this character is Cytora,>5 where it is most
abundant. The Macedonian Olympus is also a cold
region; ®for there too it grows, though not to a
great size. It is largest and fairest in Corsica,’
where the tree grows taller and stouter than anywhere
else; wherefore the honey there is not sweet, as it
smells of the box.
4 ἐπιπλεῖ conj. R. Const. from G ; ἐπὶ πλεῖον Ald.; ἐπὶ πλεῖ
(erased) U.
5 cf. Cytore buxifer, Catull. 4. 13; Plin. 16. 70.
δ ΟΥ̓ 7.
7 Κύρνῳ conj. R. Const. from Plin. l.c.; Κυρήνωι U; Κυρήνῃ
ld.
2.5.)
6
THEOPHRASTUS
Πλήθει δὲ πολὺ Kpararyos ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ κρα-
ται γόνα καλοῦσιν' ἔχει δὲ τὸ μὲν φύλλον ὃ ὅμοιον
μεσπίλῃ τετανόν, πλὴν μεῖζον ἐ ἐκείνου καὶ πλατύ-
τερον ἢ προμηκέστερον, τὸν δὲ χαραγμὸν οὐκ
ἔχον ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο. γίνεται δὲ τὸ δένδρον οὔτε
μέγα λίαν οὔτε παχύ: τὸ δὲ ξύλον ποικίλον
ἰσχυρὸν ξανθόν: ἔχει δὲ φλοιὸν λεῖον ὅμοιον
μεσπίλῃ" μονόρριζον δ᾽ εἰς βάθος ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ.
καρπὸν δ᾽ ἔχει στρογγύλον ἡλίκον ὁ κότινος"
πεπαινόμενος δὲ ξανθύνεται καὶ ἐπιμελαίνεται:"
κατὰ δὲ τὴν γεῦσιν καὶ τὸν χυλὸν μεσπιλῶδες:
διόπερ οἷον ἀγρία μεσπίλη δόξειεν ἂν εἶναι.
μονοειδὲς δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἔχον διαφοράς.
ΧΙ Ὁ δὲ πρῖνος φύλλον μὲν ἔχει δρυῶδες,
ἔλαττον δὲ καὶ ἐπακανθίξζον, τὸν δὲ ,“Φλοιὸν λειό-
τερον δρυός. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ δένδρον μέγα, καθάπερ
ἡ δρῦς, ἐὰν ἔχῃ τόπον καὶ ἔδαφος" ξύλον δὲ
πυκνὸν καὶ ἰσχυρόν' βαθύρριξον δὲ ἐπιεικῶς καὶ
πολύρριζον. καρπὸν δὲ ἔχει βαλανώδη: μικρὰ
δὲ ἡ βάλανος: περικαταλαμβάνει δὲ ὁ νέος τὸν
evov ὀψὲ γὰρ πεπαίνει, δι’ ὃ καὶ διφορεῖν τινές
φασι. φέρει δὲ παρὰ τὴν βάλανον καὶ κόκκον
τινὰ φοινικοῦν" ἴσχει δὲ καὶ ἰξίαν καὶ ὑφέαρ'
ὥστε ἐνίοτε συμβαίνει τέτταρας ἅμα καρποὺς
ἔχειν αὐτόν, δύο μὲν τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ δύο δ᾽ ἄλλους
τὸν τε τῆς ἰξίας καὶ τὸν τοῦ ὑφέαρος. καὶ τὴν
1 Quoted by Athen. 2. 34; cf. Plin. 16. 120; 26. 99;
27. 62 and 63.
2 reraydv: cf. 3. 11. 1; 3. 12. &. Athen., U.c., has rera-
μένον.
3 ἐκεῖνο Athen, l.c.; κἀκεῖνο Ald.
‘ ξανθὸν before ἰσχυρόν Athen. Le.
258
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv. 6-xv1. 1
1 The krataigos is avery common tree; some call it
krataigon. It has a smooth? leaf like that of the
medlar, but longer, and its breadth is greater than
its length, while the edge is not jagged like that *
of the medlar. The tree does not grow very tall or
thick; its wood is mottled strong and brown‘; it
has a smooth bark like that of the medlar; it has
generally a single root, which runs deep. ‘The fruit
is round and as large as that of the wild olive; as
it ripens it turns brown and black; in taste and
flavour it is like that of the medlar; wherefore this
might seem to be a sort of wild form of that tree.®
There is only one form of it and it shews no
variation.
Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, wig-tree.
XVI. The kermes-oak’ has a leaf like that of the
oak, but smallerand spinous,’ while its bark is smoother
than that of the oak. The tree itself is large, like
the oak, if it has space and root-room; the wood is
close and strong ; it roots fairly deep and it has many
roots. The ine is like an acorn, but the kermes-
oak’s acorn is small; the new one overtakes that of
last year, for it ripens late.2 Wherefore some say
that it bears twice. Besides the acorn it bears a kind
of scarlet berry !°; it also has oak-mistletoe! and
mistletoe; so that sometimes it happens that it has
four fruits on it at once, two which are its own and
two others, namely those of the oak-mistletoe!! and
5 κότινος Athen. l.c.3 κόψιμος UMVAId.
6 μεσπίλη added τ Athen. l.c.
Deh ΣῈ, Τ|5 ΘῈ 5. ΟΠ. 3: Ga. 3.0.5. 4.01.4. and 6.
10 Plin. 16. 32; Simon. ap. Plut. Theseus 17.
Br ΟΡ Ὁ 17. ile
259
THEOPHRASTUS
μὲν ἰξίαν φέρει ἐκ τῶν πρὸς βορρᾶν, τὸ δὲ ὑφεαρ
ἐκ τῶν πρὸς μεσημβρίαν.
Οἱ δὲ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν δένδρον τι σμίλακα
καλοῦσιν, ὅ ἐστιν ὅμοιον τῷ πρίνῳ, τὰ δὲ φύλλα
οὐκ ἀκανθώδη ἐ ἔχει ἀλλ᾽ ἁπαλώτερα καὶ βαθύτερα
καὶ διαφορὰς ἔχοντα πλείους" οὐδὲ τὸ ξύλον
ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο στερεὸν καὶ πυκνόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ
μαλακὸν ἐν ταῖς ἐργασίαις.
70) δὲ καλοῦσιν οἱ ᾿Αρκάδες φελλόδρυν. τοιάνδε
ἔχει τὴν φύσιν' ὡς μὲν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἀνὰ μέσον
πρίνου καὶ δρυός ἐστιν" καὶ ἔνιοί “γε ὑπολαμβά-
νουσιν εἶναι θῆλυν πρῖνον' δι᾿ δ καὶ ὅπου μὴ
φύεται πρῖνος τούτῳ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς ἁμάξας
καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, καθάπερ οἱ περὶ Λακεδαίμονα καὶ
᾿Ηλείαν. καλοῦσι δὲ οἵ γε Δωριεῖς καὶ ἀρίαν τὸ
δένδρον" ἔστι δὲ μαλακώτερον μὲν καὶ μανότερον
τοῦ πρίνου, σκληρότερον δὲ καὶ πυκνότερον τῆς
δρυός: καὶ τὸ χρῶμα φλοϊσθέντος τοῦ ξύλου
λευκότερον μὲν τοῦ πρίνου, οἰνωπότερον δὲ τῆς
δρυός" τὰ δὲ φύλλα προσέοικε μὲν ἀμφοῖν, ἔχει
δὲ “μείζω μὲν ἢ ὡς πρῖνος ἐλάττω δὲ ἢ ἢ ὡς δρῦς"
καὶ τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ μὲν πρίνου κατὰ μέγεθος
ἐλάττω ταῖς ἐλαχίσταις δὲ βαλάνοις ἴσον, καὶ
γλυκύτερον μὲν τοῦ πρίνου πικρότερον δὲ τῆς
δρυός. καλοῦσι δέ τινες τὸν μὲν τοῦ πρίνου καὶ
τὸν ταύτης καρπὸν ἄκυλον, τὸν δὲ τῆς δρυὸς
βάλανον. μήτραν δὲ ἔχει φανερωτέραν ἢ ὁ
πρῖνος" καὶ ἡ μὲν φελλόδρυς τοιαύτην τινὰ ἔχει
φύσιν.
1 Plin. 10. 19. See Index.
2 βαθύτερα MSS.; εὐθύτερα conj. Dalec,
8 Plin. dc. See Index.
260
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 1-3
of the mistletoe. It produces the oak-mistletoe on
the north side and the mistletoe on the south.
The Arcadians have a tree which they call smilaz }
(holm-oak), which resembles the kermes-oak, but
has not spinous leaves, its leaves being softer and
longer? and differing in several other ways. Nor
is the wood hard and close like that of the kermes-
oak, but quite soft to work.
The tree which the Arcadians call ‘cork-oak ’ 3
(holm-oak) has this character :—to put it generally,
it is between the kermes-oak and the oak; and some
suppose it to be the ‘ female ’ kermes-oak ; wherefore,
where the kermes-oak does not grow, they use this
tree for their carts and such-like purposes; for instance
it is so used by the peoples of Lacedaemon and Elis.
The Dorians also call the tree aria.4 Its wood is softer
and less compact than that of the kermes-oak, but
harder and closer than that of the oak. When it is
barked,® the colour of the wood is paler than that of
the kermes-oak, but redder than that of the oak.
The leaves resemble those of both trees, but they
are somewhat large, if we consider the tree as a
kermes-oak, and somewhat small if we regard it as
anoak. The fruit is smaller in size than that of the
kermes-oak, and equal to the smallest acorns; it is
sweeter than that of the kermes-oak, bitterer than
that of the oak. Some call the fruit of the kermes-
oak and of the arta ‘mast,’® keeping the name
‘acorn’ for the fruit of the oak. It has a core which
is more obvious than in kermes-oak. Such is the
character of the ‘ cork-oak.’
4 Already described ; cf. 3. 4.2; 3.17% 1.
δ᾽ ὉΠ. aus. Arcadia, 8. 12:
4 axvdov: ef. Hom. Od. 10, 242,
261
&
THEOPHRASTUS
‘H δὲ , € \ ’ , ‘
€ κόομαρος, N TO μεμαίκυλον φέρουσα το
25 ὃ > \ \ δ ” / \ ai Ν
ἐδώδιμον, ἐστὶ μὲν οὐκ ἄγαν μέγα, τὸν δὲ φλοιὸν
4 \ \ “ ’ Ἁ \ /
ἔχει λεπτὸν μὲν παρόμοιον μυρίκῃ, TO δὲ φύλλον
\ ΄ Ν ὃ / >? θ lal δὲ la
μεταξὺ πρίνου καὶ δάφνης. ἀνθεῖ δὲ τοῦ Ilvave-
val \ “
ψιῶνος: τὰ δὲ ἄνθη πέφυκεν ἀπὸ μιᾶς κρεμάστρας
5.» Ὁ v 56 \ δὲ \ “ “
ἐπ᾿ ἄκρων βοτρυδόν: τὴν δὲ μορφὴν ἕκαστόν
“ / / a /
ἐστιν ὅμοιον μύρτῳ προμήκει καὶ τῷ μεγέθει δὲ
\ a \ a “
σχεδὸν τηλικοῦτον: ἄφυλλον δὲ καὶ κοῖλον ὥσπερ
\ / \ , \
ὠὸν ἐκκεκολαμμένον TO στόμα δὲ ἀνεῳγμένον"
« \ ,
ὅταν © ἀπανθήσῃ, καὶ ἡ πρόσφυσις τετρύπηται,
\ > > n ἊΝ \ [4 ,
τὸ δ᾽ ἀπανθῆσαν λεπτὸν καὶ ὥσπερ σφόνδυλος
f x f e \
περὶ ἄτρακτον ἢ Kapvetos Awptkos: ὁ δὲ καρπὸς
A / 7 ’ i al
ἐνιαυτῷ πεπαίνεται, ὥσθ᾽ ἅμα συμβαίνει τοῦτόν
’ \ an
T ἔχειν Kal Tov ἕτερον ἀνθεῖν.
, \
Ilapoporov δὲ τὸ φύλλον καὶ ἡ avdpayAn ἔχει
A / 7 /
τῷ κομάρῳ, μέγεθος οὐκ ἄγαν μέγα" Tov δὲ φλοιὸν
“ , \ / \
λεῖον ἔχει Kal περιρρηγνύμενον" καρπὸν δ᾽ ἔχει
ὅμοιον τῇ κομάρῳ.
/ /, -“
“Ὅμοιον δ᾽ ἐστὶ τούτοις τὸ φύλλον καὶ τὸ τῆς
4 \ δὲ δέ ὃ U4 v6 Ne 29,
κοκκυγέας" TO δὲ δένδρον μικρόν. ἴδιον δὲ ἔγχει
a Ν / a
TO ἐκπαπποῦσθαι τὸν καρπόν! τοῦτο yap οὐδ᾽
359) GU2N > id vw δέ ὃ a \
ep ἐνὸς ἀκηκοαμεν ἄλλου δενόρου. ταῦτα μὲν
, / /
οὖν κοινότερα πλείοσι χώραις καὶ τόποις.
1 Plin. 15. 98 and 99; Diosc. 1. 122. 2 October.
3 ἐκκεκολαμμένον MV, cf. Arist. H.A. 6.33 ἐγκεκολαμμένον
UAld. iN | al Ieee ba oes
5 κάρνειος, an unknown word, probably corrupt; κίονος
p Wares 5) : pt;
δωρικοῦ conj. Sch., ‘drum of a Doric column,’ ef. Athen.
5. 39.
262
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv1. 4-6
1The arbutus, which produces the edible fruit
called memazkylon, is not a very large tree; its bark is
thin and like that of the tamarisk, the leaf is between
that of the kermes-oak and that of the bay. It
blooms in the month Pyanepsion?; the flowers grow
in clusters at the end of the boughs from a single
attachment; in shape each of them is like an oblong
myrtle flower and it is of about the same size; it has
no petals, but forms a cup like an empty eggshell,
and the mouth is open: when the flower drops off,
there is a hole* also through the part by which
it is attached, and the fallen flower is delicate and
like a whorl on a spindle or a Doric karneios.6 The
fruit takes a year to ripen, so that it comes to pass
that this and the new flower are on the tree
together.
6 The andrachne has a leaf like that of the arbutus
and is not a very large tree; the bark is smooth?
and cracked,§ the fruit is like that of the arbutus.
The leaf of the wig-tree® is also like that of
the last named tree, but it is a small tree. Peculiar
to it is the fact that the fruit passes into down!?:
we have not heard of such a thing in any other
TEE. These trees are found in a good many
positions and regions.
*Plin.w13. 190.
7 χεῖον conj. Sch.; λευκὸν UAld. In Pletho’s excerpt the
passage has λεῖον, and Plin., /.c., evidently read λεῖον.
8 περιρρηγνύμενον. Plin., /.c., seems to have read περιπήη-
yvipevov. cf. 1.5.2; 9. 4. 3.
9 Plin. 13.121. κοκκυγέας conj. Sch. after Plin. l.c., ef.
Hesych. 8.0. κεκκοκυγωμένην ; κοκκομηλέας U; κοκκυμηλέας
P,Ald.
10 gemanmoda0as : Sructum amittere lanugine Plin. lc. ef.
6. 8.4
263
THEOPHRASTUS
XVII. “Evia δὲ ἰδιώτερα, καθάπερ καὶ ὁ φελλός:
ίνεται μὲν ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ, τὸ δὲ δένδρον ἐστὶ
ry μὲν ev 'Ῥυρρηνίᾳ, δένδρον ἐστὶ στε-
a » > A
λεχῶδες μὲν Kal ὀλιγόκλαδον, εὔμηκες δ᾽ ἐπιεικῶς
\ ᾽ / / ? , \ \ - \
καὶ evav&és: ξύλον ἰσχυρόν' τὸν δὲ φλοιὸν παχὺν
\ 4 “ [ a ’
σφόδρα καὶ καταρρηγνύμενον, ὥσπερ ὁ τῆς πίτυος,
\ δὰ / ‘\ \ / “ “-
πλὴν κατὰ μείζω. τὸ δὲ φύλλον ὅμοιον ταῖς
\ /
μελίαις παχὺ προμηκέστερον' οὐκ ἀείφυλλον
“ \
ἀλλὰ φυλλοβολοῦν. καρπὸν δὲ [αἰεὶ] φέρει
a / a
βαλανηρὸν ὅμοιον τῇ apia. περιαιροῦσι δὲ τὸν
\ , lal / > a > \ st
φλοιὸν καί φασι δεῖν πάντα ἀφαιρεῖν, εἰ δὲ μὴ
a / XN / a
χεῖρον γίνεται τὸ δένδρον: ἐξαναπληροῦται δὲ
πάλιν σχεδὸν ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσιν.
Ἴδιον δὲ καὶ ἡ κολουτέα περὶ Λιπάραν: δένδρον
\ ’ / Ν \ \ / ? -
μὲν εὐμέγεθες, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν φέρει ἐν λοβοῖς
’ a / x / a
ἡλίκον φακόν, OS πιαίνει τὰ πρόβατα θαυμαστῶς.
x a a
φύεται δὲ ἀπὸ σπέρματος Kal ἐκ τῆς TOV προβά-
/ / [4 \ “ ’ὔ, fod
των κόπρου κάλλιστα. ὥρα δὲ τῆς φυτείας ἅμα
᾿Αρκτούρῳ δυομένῳ: δεῖ δὲ φυτεύειν προβρέ
ρκτούρῳ δυομένς ροβρέχοντας
/ 2 a e/ / ᾽
ὅταν ἤδη διαφύηται ἐν τῷ ὕδατι. φύλλον δ᾽ ἔχει
παρόμοιον τήλει. βλαστάνει δὲ τὸ πρῶτον
/
μονοφυὲς ἐπὶ ἔτη μάλιστα τρία ἐν οἷς καὶ τὰς
la] \
βακτηρίας τέμνουσι: δοκοῦσι yap εἶναι καλαί:
καὶ ἐάν τις κολούσῃ ἀποθνήσκει: καὶ γὰρ ἀπα-
, , 5 - , \ >
ράβλαστόν ἐστιν: εἶτα σχίζεται καὶ ἀποδεν-
δροῦται τῷ τετάρτῳ ἔτει.
' Plin. 16. 34.
2 τυρρηνίᾳ conj. R. Const.; πυρρηνίαι UMV; πυρρηνίᾳ Ald.
8 αἰεὶ must be corrupt: probably repeated from ἀείφυλλον.
+ βαλανηρὸν conj. Sch.; βαλανήφορον UMVAId.
> apla conj. R. Const. from G ; ἀγρίᾳ P3MVAId.; ἀγρίαι U.
264
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 1-2
Of cork-oak, kolutea, koloitia, and of certain other trees
peculiar to particular localities.
XVII. !1Some however are more local, such as the
cork-oak: this occurs in Tyrrhenia?; itisa tree with
a distinct trunk and few branches, and is fairly tall
and of vigorous growth. The wood is strong, the
bark very thick and cracked, like that of the Aleppo
pine, save that the cracks are larger. The leaf is
like that of the manna-ash, thick and somewhat
oblong. The tree is not evergreen but deciduous.
It has always? an acorn-like* fruit like that of
the aria® (holm-oak). They strip off the bark,® and
they say that it should all be removed,’ otherwise
the tree deteriorates: it is renewed again in about
three years.
The kolutea® too is a local tree, occurring in the
Lipari islands. It is a tree of good size, and bears
its fruit, which is as large as a lentil, in pods; this
fattens sheep wonderfully. It grows from seed, and
also grows very well from sheep-droppings. The
time for sowing it is the setting of Arcturus; and
one should first soak the seed and sow it when it is
already sprouting in the water. It has a leaf like
telis® (fenugreek). At first it grows for about three
years with a single stem, and in this period men cut
their walking-sticks from it; for it seems that it
makes excellent ones. And, if the top is cut off
during this period, it dies, for it makes no side-
shoots. After this period it divides, and in the
fourth year develops into a tree.
δ. 120.2540 16:1; Phin. 17.234.
7 ἀφαιρεῖν conj. Coraés ; διαιρεῖν P,Ald.
Breeds ELIS Boll. 5:
9 τήλει conj. R. Const. from G, faeno graeco; τίλει UMV;
τύλῃ Ald.
265
3
THEOPHRASTUS
‘H δὲ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην, ἣν καλοῦσι κολοιτίαν,
»" . / , \ \ \ ᾽ lal Ν
ἕτερον εἶδός ἐστιν, θαμνοειδὲς δὲ καὶ ὀξζῶδες καὶ
πολυμάσχαλον, σπάνιον δέ, οὐ πολύ: ἔχει δὲ
φύλλον δαφνοειδὲς πλατυφύλλου δάφνης, πλὴν
στρογγυλώτερον καὶ μεῖζον ὥσθ᾽ ὅμοιον φαίνεσθαι
A an / \
τῷ τῆς πτελέας, προμηκέστερον δέ, τὴν χρόαν
ἐπὶ θάτερα χλοερὸν ὄπισθεν δὲ ἐπιλευκαῖνον, καὶ
πολύϊνον ἐκ τῶν ὄπισθεν ταῖς λεπταῖς Lal ἔκ τε
τῆς ῥάχεως καὶ μεταξὺ τῶν πλευροειδῶν ἀπὸ
τῆς μέσης κατατεινουσῶν: φλοιὸν δ᾽ οὐ λεῖον
᾽ a
ἀλλ᾽ οἷον τὸν τῆς ἀμπέλου" τὸ δὲ ξύλον σκληρὸν
,
καὶ πυκνόν" ῥίζας dé ἐπιπολαίους καὶ λεπτὰς
\ \ > \ ’ 3: νῷ Ν \ /
καὶ pavas οὐλὰς δ᾽ ἐνίοτε, καὶ ξανθὰς σφόδρα.
\ \ > ” \ 29\ », \ Ν
καρπὸν δὲ οὐκ ἔχειν φασὶν οὐδὲ ἄνθος" τὴν δὲ
κορυνώδη κάχρυν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοὺς παρὰ
Ν 4 / / \ \ \
Ta φύλλα λείους σφόδρα καὶ λιπαροὺς καὶ
λευκοὺς τῷ σχήματι δὲ καχρυώδεις: ἀποκοπὲν δὲ
καὶ ἐπικαυθὲν παραφύεται καὶ ἀναβλαστάνει.
7 ὃ \ \ 4 \ \ \ ” ὃ > , L
Ιδια δὲ Kai τάδε τὰ περὶ THY Ἴδην ἐστίν, οἷον
ἣἥ τε ᾿Αλεξάνδρεια καλουμένη δάφνη καὶ συκῆ τις
καὶ ἄμπελος. τῆς μὲν οὖν δάφνης ἐν τούτῳ τὸ
” «“ > 4 , ᾽ [κέ \ e
ἴδιον, ὅτε ἐπιφυλλόκαρπόν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ Kal ἡ
κεντρομυρρίνη: ἀμφότεραι γὰρ τὸν καρπὸν ἔχ-
ουσιν ἐκ τῆς ῥάχεως τοῦ φύλλου.
‘H δὲ συκῆ θαμνῶδες μὲν καὶ οὐχ ὑψηλόν,
πάχος δ᾽ ἔχον ὥστε καὶ “πηχυαῖον εἶναι τὴν περί-
[ET POV" TO δὲ ξύλον ἐπεστραμμένον γλίσχρον"
κάτωθεν μὲν λεῖον καὶ ἄνοζον ἄνωθεν δὲ περί-
1 κολοιτίαν (ἢ κολοιτέαν) U. οἵ. 1. 11. 2; 3.17. ὁ. Which-
ever spelling is correct should probably be adopted in all
three places. Aref. 8. 11:5
266
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvir. 3-5
The tree found about Mount Ida, called foloitia,!
is a distinct kind and is shrubby and branching with
many boughs; but it is rather rare. It has a leaf
like that of the ‘broad-leaved’ bay,? but rounder
and larger, so that it looks like that of the elm,
but it is more oblong: the colour on both sides is
green, but the base is whitish; in this part it is
very fibrous, because of its fine fibres which spring
partly from the midrib,? partly between the ribs4
(so to call them) which run out from the midrib.
The bark is not smooth but like that of the vine;
the wood is hard and close, the roots are shallow
slender and spreading, (though sometimes they are
compact), and they are very yellow. They say that
this shrub has no fruit nor flower, but has its knobby
winter-bud and its ‘eyes’; these grow alongside of
the leaves, and are very smooth glossy and white,
and in shape are like a winter-bud. When the tree
is cut or burnt down, it grows from the side and
springs up again.
There are also three trees peculiar to Mount Ida,
the tree called Alexandrian laurel, a sort of fig, and a
‘vine’ (currant grape). The peculiarity of the laurel
is that it bears fruit on its leaves, like the ‘prickly
myrtle’ (butcher’s broom): both have their fruit on
the midrib of the leaf.
The ‘fig’® is shrubby and not tall, but so thick
that the stem is a cubit in circumference. The wood
is twisted and tough; below it is smooth and un-
branched, above it has thick foliage: the colour both
3 ἔκ τε τῆς paxéws καὶ conj. W.; καὶ ταῖς ῥίζαις καὶ Ald. cf.
3. 10. 3, and ἐκ τῆς ῥαχέως below, 3. 17. 4.
4 πλευροειδῶν : πλευροειδῶς Conj. St.
δ See Index. Plin. 15. 68; cf. Athen. 3. 11.
267
THEOPHRASTUS
A a /
κομον' χρῶμα δὲ καὶ φύλλου καὶ φλοιοῦ πελιόν,
Ν \ lal lal / od lal lal [4
τὸ δὲ σχῆμα τῶν φύλλων ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς φιλύρας
Ν
καὶ μαλακὸν καὶ πλατὺ καὶ τὸ μέγεθος παρα-
/ A ἴω \ » a ce -
πλήσιον: ἄνθος μεσπιλῶδες καὶ ἀνθεῖ ἅμα τῇ
a re \
μεσπίλῃ. ὁ δὲ καρπός, ὃν καλοῦσι σῦκον, ἐρυθρὸς
Cart ? / \ , >
ἡλίκος ἐλάας πλὴν στρογγυλώτερος, ἐσθιόμενος
\ 7 SF \ 7 / e x
δὲ μεσπιλώδης: ῥίζας δὲ ἔχει παχείας ὡσὰν
συκῆς ἡμέρου καὶ γλίσχρας. ἀσαπὲς δέ ἐστι τὸ
\
δένδρον καὶ καρδίαν ἔχει στερεὰν οὐκ ἐντεριώνην.
Ἥ δὲ 3 ’ὔ \ a πὸ \ \
€ ἄμπελος φύεται μὲν τῆς Ιδὴς περὶ Tas
Φαλάκρας καλουμένας: ἔστι δὲ θαμνῶδες ῥαβ-
δίοις μικροῖς" τείνονται δὲ οἱ κλῶνες ὡς πυγω-
νιαῖοι, πρὸς οἷς ῥᾶγές εἰσιν ἐκ πλαγίου μέλαιναι
τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκος κύαμος γλυκεῖαι: ἔχουσι δὲ
> \ Ags ΄ ΄ ΄
ἐντὸς γυγαρτῶδές τε μαλακόν: φύλλον στρογγύλον
ἀσχιδὲς μικρόν.
XVIII. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ τἄλλα σχεδὸν ὄρη φύσεις
\ 0.7 \ \ / \ \ / \ >
τινὰς ἰδίας τὰ μὲν δένδρων τὰ δὲ θάμνων τὰ ὃ
ἄλλων ὑλημάτων. ἀλλὰ γὰρ περὶ μὲν τῆς ἰδιό-
/ ’
τητος εἴρηται πλεονάκις OTL γίνεται KAO ἑκάστους
lal lal id
τόπους. ἡ δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ὁμογενέσιν διαφορά,
ἴω / lal
καθάπερ ἡ τῶν δένδρων Kal TOV θάμνων, ὁμοίως
“ “ a
ἐστὶ καὶ TOV ἄλλων, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, τῶν πλείστων,
ὥσπερ καὶ ῥάμνου καὶ παλιούρου καὶ οἴσου [καὶ
a \ a
οἴτου] Kal pov καὶ κιττοῦ καὶ βάτου καὶ ἑτέρων
πολλῶν.
1 Lit. grape-stone.
2 I omit ἡ before διαφορά with Sch,
268
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvir. 5—xvur. 1
of leaf and bark is a dull green, the shape of the
leaf is like that of the lime; it is soft and broad,
and in size it also corresponds; the flower is like
that of the medlar, and the tree blooms at the same
time as that tree. The fruit, which they call a ‘fig,’
is red, and as large as an olive, but it is rounder
and is like the medlar in taste; the roots are thick
like those of the cultivated fig, and tough. The
tree does not rot, and it has a solid heart, instead of
ordinary heart-wood.
The ‘vine’ (currant grape) grows about the place
called Phalakrai in the district of Ida; it is shrubby
with small twigs; the branches are about a cubit
long, and attached to them at the side are black
berries, which are the size of a bean and sweet;
inside they have a sort of soft stone!; the leaf is
round undivided and small
Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, withy, Christ’s
thorn, bramble, sumach, ivy, smilax, [spindle-tree].
XVIII. Most other mountains too have certain
peculiar products, whether trees shrubs or other
woody plants. However we have several times
remarked as to such peculiarities that they occur in
all regions. Moreover the variation? between things
of the same kind which we find in trees obtains also
among shrubs and most other things, as has been
said: for instance, we find it in buckthorn Christ’s
thorn withy? sumach ivy bramble and many
others,
3 [καὶ ofrov] bracketed by W.; καὶ ἴσον Ald.; καὶ ἴσου καὶ
οἴτου MVP; καὶ οἴσου καὶ vito. U. Only οἷσος is mentioned in
the following descriptions.
269
THEOPHRASTUS
‘Papvos τε γάρ ἐστιν ἡ μὲν μέλαινα ἡ δὲ λευκή,
καὶ ὁ καρπὸς διάφορος, ἀκανθοφύροι δὲ ἄμφω.
Τοῦ τε οἴσου τὸ μὲν λευκὸν τὸ δὲ μέλαν" καὶ τὸ
ἄνθος ἑκατέρου καὶ ὁ καρπὸς κατὰ λόγον ὁ μὲν
λευκὸς ὁ δὲ μέλας: ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ ὥσπερ ἀνὰ μέσον,
ὧν καὶ τὸ ἄνθος ἐπιπορφυρίζει καὶ οὔτε οἰνωπὸν
οὔτε ἔκλευκόν ἐστιν ὥσπερ τῶν ἑτέρων. ἔχει δὲ
καὶ τὰ φύλλα λεπτότερα καὶ λειότερα καὶ τὰς
ῥάβδους τὸ λευκόν.
“O τε παλίουρος EXEL διαφορὰς . . «ἅπαντα, δὲ
ταῦτα καρποφόρα. καὶ ὅ γε Tadtoupos ἐν λοβῷ
τινί τὸν καρπὸν ἔχει καθαπερεὶ φύλλῳ, ἐν ᾧ τρία
ἢ τέτταρα γίνεται. χρῶνται δ᾽ αὐτῷ πρὸς τὰς
βῆχας οἱ ἰατροὶ κόπτοντες" ἔχει γάρ τινα
γλισχρότητα καὶ λίπος, ὥσπερ τὸ τοῦ λίνου
σπέρμα. φύεται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐφύδροις καὶ ἐν
τοῖς ξηροῖς, ὥσπερ ὁ βάτος. [οὐχ ἧττον δέ ἐ ἐστι
τὸ δένδρον mapudpov.| φυλλοβόλον δὲ καὶ οὐχ
ὥσπερ ἡ ῥάμνος ἀείφυλλον.
"Ete δὲ καὶ τοῦ βάτου πλείω γένη, μεγίστην δὲ
ἔχοντες διαφορὰν ὅτι ὁ μὲν ὀρθοφυὴς καὶ ὕψος
ἔχων, ὁ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ εὐθὺς κάτω νεύων καὶ
ὅταν συνάπτῃ τῇ γῇ ῥιξζούμενος πάλιν, ὃν δὴ
καλοῦσί τινες χαμαίβατον. τὸ δὲ κυνόσβατον
τὸν καρπὸν ὑπέρυθρον ἔχει καὶ παραπλήσιον τῷ
τῆς ῥόας" ἔστι δὲ ,»θάμνου καὶ δένδρου μεταξὺ καὶ
παρόμοιον ταῖς ῥύαις, τὸ δὲ φύλλον ἀκανθῶδες.
ΤΠ OAs 5:18:.}10.. ΟΡ. ke 10:
2 Some words are missing, which described various forms
of παλίουρος, alluded to in πάντα ταῦτα (Sch.). ef. 4. 3. 3,
where an African παλίουρος is described.
3 καθαπερεὶ φύλλῳ conj. W., cf. 3. 11.25 καθάπερ τὸ φύλλον
UMV.
270
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 2-4
1Thus of buckthorn there is the black and the
white form, and there is difference in the fruit,
though both bear thorns.
Of the withy there is a black and a white form ;
the flower and fruit of each respectively correspond
in colour to the name; but some specimens are, as
it were, intermediate, the flower being purplish, and
neither wine-coloured nor whitish as in the others.
The leaves in the white kind are also slenderer and
smoother, as also are the branches.
There is variation also in the Christ’s thorn . . .?
all these forms are fruit-bearing. Christ’s thorn has
its fruit in a sort of pod, resembling a leaf,? which
contains three or four seeds. Doctors bruise * them
and use them against coughs ; for they have a certain
viscous and oily character, like linseed. The shrub
grows in wet and dry places alike, like the bramble.®
But it is deciduous, and not evergreen like buckthorn.
Of the bramble again there are several kinds,
shewing very great variation; one is erect and tall,
another runs along the ground and from the first
bends downwards, and, when it touches the earth, it
roots again; this some call the ‘ ground bramble.’
The ‘dog’s bramble’ (wild rose) has a reddish fruit,
like that of the pomegranate ®; and, like the pome-
granate, it is intermediate between a shrub and a
tree; but the leaf is spinous.’
4 κόπτοντες : for the tense cf. 3. 17. 2, mpoBpéxovras.
5 οὐχ... πάρυδρον probably a gloss, W.
ὁ ῥόαις UMV (Ὁ) Ald.; ῥοδαῖς conj. Sch. from Plin. 16. 180.
Athen. (2. 82) cites the passage with παραπ. τῇ foia. The
Schol. on Theocr. 5. 92 seems to have traces of both readings.
7 ἀκανθῶδες conj. Sch. from Schol. on Theocr. (see last note),
which quotes the passage with ἀκανθῶδες ; ἀγνῶδες UAld.; so
also Athen. J.c. Plin. (24. 121) seems to have read ixvades
(vestigio hominis simile).
21
5
THEOPHRASTUS
“Τῆς δὲ ῥοῦ τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ καλοῦσι
τῷ τὸ μὲν ἄκαρπον εἶναι τὸ δὲ κάρπιμον. οὐκ
ἔχει δὲ οὐδὲ τὰς ῥάβδους ὑψηλὰς οὐδὲ παχείας,
φύλλον δ᾽ ὅμοιον πτελέᾳ πλὴν μικρὸν προμη-
κέστερον καὶ ἐπίδασυ. τῶν δὲ κλωνίων τῶν νέων
ἐξ ἴσου τὰ φύλλα εἰς δύο, κατ᾽ ἄλληλα δὲ ἐκ τῶν
πλαγίων ὥστε στοιχεῖν. βάπτουσι δὲ τούτῳ καὶ
οἱ σκυτοδέψαι τὰ δέρματα τὰ λευκά. ἄνθος
λευκὸν βοτρυῶδες, τῷ σχήματι δὲ τὸ ὁλοσχερὲς
ὄστλιγγας ἔχον ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ βότρυς" ἀπανθή-
σαντος δὲ ὁ καρπὸς ἅμα τῇ σταφύλῃ ἐρυθραίνεται,
καὶ γίνονται οἷον φακοὶ λεπτοὶ συγκείμενοι"
βοτρυῶδες δὲ τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τούτων. ἔχει δὲ τὸ
φαρμακῶδες τοῦτο ὃ καλεῖται ῥοῦς ἐν αὐτῷ
ὀστῶδες, ὃ ὃ καὶ τῆς ῥοῦ διηττημένης ἔ ἔχει, πολλάκις"
ῥίζα δ᾽ ἐπιπόλαιος καὶ μονοφυὴς ὥστε ἀνα-
κἀμτξεσθαι ῥᾳδίως ὁλόρριξζα'" τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἐντε-
ριώνην ἔχει, εὔφθαρτον δὲ καὶ κοπτόμενον. ἐν
πᾶσι δὲ γίγνεται τοῖς τόποις, εὐθενεῖ δὲ μάλιστα
ἐν τοῖς ἀργιλώδεσι.
Πολυειδὴς δὲ ὁ κιττός' καὶ γὰρ ἐπίγειος, ὁ δὲ
εἰς “ὕψος αἰρόμενος" καὶ τῶν ἐν ὕψει πλείω γένη.
τρία δ᾽ οὖν “φαίνεται τὰ μέγιστα ὅ τε λευκὸς καὶ
ὁ μέλας καὶ τρίτον ἡ EME. εἴδη δὲ καὶ ἑκάστου
τούτων πλείω. λευκὸς γὰρ ὁ μὲν τῷ καρπῷ
μόνον, ὁ δὲ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις ἐστί. πάλιν δὲ τῶν
λευκοκάρπων μόνον ὁ μὲν ἁδρὸν καὶ πυκνὸν καὶ
συνεστηκότα τὸν καρπὸν ἔχει καθαπερεὶ σφαῖραν,
. Phin. ts. θα; 24. 9]
2 oroixeiv: cf. 3. 5.3; Plin. 13. 55.
3 βοτρυῶδες conj. W.; βοτρυηδόν U; βοτρνδόν Ald.
4 ὁ ῥοῦς masc. cf. Diosc. 1. 108.
272
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvin. 5-6
1 Of the sumach they recognise a ‘male’ and a
‘female’ form, the former being barren, the latter
fruit-bearing. The branches are not lofty nor stout,
the leaf is like that of the elm, but small more
oblong and hairy. On the young shoots the leaves
grow in pairs at equal distances apart, corresponding
to each other on the two sides, so that they are in
regular rows.2, Tanners use this tree for dyeing
white leather. The flower is white and grows in
clusters; the general form of it, with branchlets, is
like that of the grape-bunch; when the flowering is
over, the fruit reddens like the grape, and the
appearance of it is like small lentils set close
together; the form of these too is clustering.? The
fruit contains the drug called by the same name,‘
which is a bony substance; it is often still found
even when the fruit has been put through a sieve.
The root is shallow and single, so that these trees
are easily bent right over,® root and all. The wood
has heart-wood, and it readily perishes and gets
worm-eaten.® The tree occurs in all regions, but
flourishes most in clayey soils.
‘The ivy also has many forms; one kind grows
on the ground, another grows tall, and of the tall-
growing ivies there are several kinds. However the
three most important seem to be the white the
black and the λεία. And of each of these there are
several forms. Of the ‘ white’ one is white only in
its fruit, another in its leaves also. Again to take
only white-fruited sorts, one of these has its fruit
well formed close and compact like a ball; and this
> 2,6. nearly uprooted by wind.
ὁ κοπτόμενον : cf. 8. 11. 2, 3 and 5,
7 Plin. 16. 144-147.
273
THEOPHRASTUS
Δ \ lal , ᾽ ΄
ὃν δὴ καλοῦσί τινες κορυμβίαν, οἱ δ᾽ ᾿Αθήνῃσιν
’ / e x > / / “
Αχαρνικόν. ὁ δὲ ἐλάττων διακεχυμένος ὥσπερ
ς \ ,
καὶ ὁ μέλας" ἔχει δὲ Kal ὁ μέλας διαφορὰς ἀλλ
,
οὐχ ὁμοίως pavepas.
ς , a \
H δὲ ἕλιξ ἐν μεγίσταις διαφοραῖς: καὶ yap
tal / “- 7 a ,
τοῖς φύλλοις πλεῖστον διαφέρει τῇ τε μικρότητι
καὶ τῷ γωνοειδῆ καὶ εὐρυθμότερα εἶναι" τὰ δὲ τοῦ
κιττοῦ περιφερέστερα καὶ ἁπλᾶ: καὶ τῷ μήκει
τῶν κλημάτων καὶ ἔτι τῷ ἄκαρπος εἶναι. δια-
τείνονται γάρ τινες τῷ μὴ ἀποκιττοῦσθαι τῇ
΄ \ 6. > \ \ ᾽ al an
φύσει THY ἐλικα AANA τὴν EK τοῦ κιττοῦ τελειου-
μένην. (εἰ δὲ πᾶσα ἀποκιττοῦται, καθάπερ τινές
ς / x ” \ / > ”
φασιν, ἡλικίας av εἴη καὶ διαθέσεως οὐκ εἴδους
διαφορά, καθάπερ καὶ τῆς ἀπίου πρὸς τὴν
\ / /
ἀχράδα.) πλὴν τό ye φύλλον καὶ ταύτης πολὺ
, ἴω
διαφέρει πρὸς τὸν κιττόν. σπάνιον δὲ τοῦτο καὶ
» ’ / b] \ “ ΄ 7
ἐν ὀλίγοις ἐστὶν ὧστε παλαιούμενον μεταβάλλειν,
a “- “ ᾽
ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς λεύκης καὶ τοῦ κρότωνος. εἴδη
’ ᾽ \ / an «Ὁ. td \ \ /
δ᾽ ἐστὶ πλείω τῆς ἕλικος, ὡς μὲν τὰ προφανέ-
7 a ©
στατα Kal μέγιστα λαβεῖν τρία, ἥ Te χλοερὰ καὶ
/
TOLWONS ἥπερ Kal πλείστη, Kal ἑτέρα ἡ λευκή, καὶ
/ id / A \ lal / ,
τρίτη ἡ ποικίλη, ἣν δὴ καλοῦσί τινες Θρᾳκίαν.
1 ε΄. ‘Theocr. 11]. 46: 2 Plin. 16. 145 foll.
3 7.e. is the most ‘ distinct ’ of the ivies.
* ef. lo Ws Diose. 2.0 179:
δὴ 6. as an explanation of the barrenness of helix.
δ 7.e. and so becomes fertile.
7 διατείνονται : cf. C.P. 4.6.1. διατ. τῳ . . . apparently
= ‘insist on the view that,” . . . but the dative is strange.
The sentence, which is highly elliptical, is freely emended ‘Ly
most editors.
274
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IIL xvi. 6-8
kind some call korymbias, but the Athenians call it the
‘Acharnian’ ivy. Another kind is smaller and loose
in growth like the black ivy.! There are also vari-
ations in the black kind, but they are not so well
marked.
2 The helix presents the greatest differences*; the
principal difference is in the leaves,‘ which are small
angular and of more graceful proportions, while
those of the ivy proper are rounder and simple;
there is also difference in the length of the twigs,
and further in the fact that this tree is barren. For,°
as to the view that the felix by natural development
turns into the ivy,® some insist’ that this is not so,
the only true ivy according to these being that which
was ivy from the first®; (whereas if, as some say, the
helix invariably ὃ turns into ivy, the difference would
be merely one of age and condition, and not of kind,
like the difference between the cultivated and the
wild pear). However the leaf even of the full-
grown helix is very different from that of the ivy,
and it happens but rarely and in a few specimens
that in this plant a change in the leaf occurs as it
grows older, as it does in the abele and the castor-oil
plant.!° 11 There are several forms of the helix, of
which the three most conspicuous and important are
the green ‘herbaceous’ kind (which is the common-
est), the white, and the variegated, which some call
the ‘Thracian’ helix. Each of these appears to
8 i.e. and helix being a distinct plant which is always
barren.
9 πᾶσα conj. Sch.; was Ald.
10 Sc, as well as in zvy; cf. 1.10. 1, where this change is
said to be characteristic of these three trees. (The rendering
attempted of this obscure section is mainly from W.’s note.)
11 Plin. 16. 148 foll.
275
THEOPHRASTUS
ἑκάστη δὲ τούτων δοκεῖ διαφέρειν" καὶ γὰρ τῆς
χλοώδους ἡ μὲν λεπτοτέρα καὶ ταξιφυλλοτέρα
καὶ ἔτι πυκνοφυλλοτέρα, ἡ δ᾽ ἧττον πάντα ταῦτ᾽
ἔχουσα. καὶ τῆς ποικίλης ἡ μὲν μεῖζον ἡ ἡ δ᾽
ἔλαττον τὸ φύλλον, καὶ τὴν ποικιλίαν διαὶ
φέρουσα. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς λευκῆς τῷ
μεγέθει καὶ τῇ χροιᾷ διαφέρουσιν. εὐαυξεστάτη
δὲ ἡ ἡ ποιώδης καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον προϊοῦσα. φανερὰν
δ᾽ εἶναί φασιν τὴν ἀποκιττουμένην οὐ μόνον τοῖς
φύλλοις ὅτι μείζω καὶ πλατύτερα ἔχει ἀλλὰ
καὶ τοῖς βχλαστοῖς: εὐθὺς γὰρ ὀρθοὺς ἔχει, καὶ
οὐχ ὥσπερ ἡ ἑτέρα κατακεκαμμένη, καὶ διὰ τὴν
λεπτότητα καὶ διὰ τὸ μῆκος" τῆς δὲ κιττώδους
καὶ βραχύτεροι καὶ παχύτεροι. καὶ ὁ κιττὸς
ὅταν ἄρχηται σπερμοῦσθαι μετέωρον ἔχει καὶ
ὀρθὸν τὸν βλαστόν.
Πολύρριζος μὲν οὖν ἅπας κιττὸς καὶ πυκνόρρι-
ζος συνεστραμμένος ταῖς ῥίζαις καὶ ξυλώδεσι καὶ
παχείαις καὶ οὐκ ἄγαν βαθύρριζος, μάλιστα δ᾽ ὁ
μέλας, καὶ τοῦ λευκοῦ ὁ τραχύτατος καὶ ἀγριώ-
τατος" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ χαλεπὸς παραφύεσθαι πᾶσι τοῖς
δένδροις" ἀπόλλυσι γὰρ πάντα καὶ ἀφαναίνει
παραιρούμενος τὴν τροφήν. λαμβάνει δὲ μάλιστα
πάχος οὗτος καὶ ᾿ ἀποδενδροῦται καὶ γίνεται αὐτὸ
καθ᾽ αὑτὸ κιττοῦ δένδρον. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖον
εἶναι πρὸς ἑτέρῳ φιλεῖ καὶ ζητεῖ καὶ ὥσπερ
10 ἐπαλλόκαυλόν ἐστιν. ἔχει δ᾽ εὐθὺς καὶ τῆς
1 ταξιφυλλοτέρα conj. W. from Plin. 16. 149, folia in
ordinem digesta ; 3 μακροφυλλοτέρα MSS. of. 1. 10. 8.
τ κατακεκαμμένη conj. W.; κατακεκαυμένη UAId.; κατακεκαμ-
μένους conj. Sch.
3 κιττώδους MSS.; ποώδους conj. St. © efiCeP. 116. 4.
276
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 8-10
present variations ; of the green one form is slenderer
and has more regular! and also closer leaves, the
other has all these characteristics in a less degree.
Of the variegated kind again one sort has a larger,
one a smaller leaf, and the variegation is variable.
In like manner the various forms of the white helix
differ in size and colour. The ‘herbaceous’ kind is
the most vigorous and covers most space. They say
that the form which is supposed to turn into ivy is
clearly marked not only by its leaves, because they
are larger and broader, but also by its shoots; for
these are straight from the first, and this form does
not bend over? like the other; also because the
shoots are slenderer and larger, while those of the
ivy-like? form are shorter and stouter. ‘The ivy
too, when it begins to seed, has its shoots upward-
growing and erect.
All ivies have numerous close roots, which are
tangled together woody and stout, and do not run
very deep; but this is specially true of the black
kind and of the roughest and wildest forms of the
white. Wherefore it is mischievous to plant this
against any tree; for it destroys and starves any
tree by withdrawing the moisture. This form also
more than the others grows stout and becomes tree-
like, and in fact becomes itself an independent ivy
tree, though in general it likes and seeks to be®
against another tree, and is, as it were, parasitic.®
™Moreover from the first it has also this natural
5 εἶναι conj. W.; αἰεὶ UM; ἀεὶ Ald.
6 5,6. depends on another tree; not, of course, in the
strict botanical sense. cf. 3. 18. 11. ἐπαλλόκαυλον conj.
Scal.; ἐπαυλόκαλον MVAId.U (with v corrected). ef. περι-
αλλόκαυλος, 7. 8.1; C.P. 2. 18. 2,
7 Plin. 16. 152,
277
11
THEOPHRASTUS
/ / cal ᾽ \ -“ “ , ,
φύσεώς τι τοιοῦτον: ἐκ yap τῶν βλαστῶν ἀφίησιν
See\ δ DN / a / e > ΄
ἀεὶ ῥίζας ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν φύλλων, αἷσπερ ἐνδύεται
“ / \ a
τοῖς δένδροις καὶ τοῖς τειχίοις οἷον ἐξεπίτηδες
7 ς Ν lal 4 bee. Ν ᾽ ,ὔ
πεποιημέναις ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ ἐξαιρού-
\ e Ν ee >
μενος τὴν ὑγρότητα Kal ἕλκων ἀφαυαίνει, Kal ἐὰν
“ / rt 7 A
ἀποκοπῇ κάτωθεν δύναται διαμένειν καὶ ζῆν.
» \ / \ \
ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἑτέραν διαφορὰν κατὰ τὸν καρπὸν οὐ
, e \ \ > ὧδ / BI ς \ ,
μικράν' ὁ μὲν yap ἐπίγλυκύς ἐστιν ὁ δὲ σφόδρα
\ \ fal lal Ν nr 7, A
πικρὸς καὶ τοῦ A€VKOV καὶ τοῦ μέλανος" σημεῖον
SF ee \ \ 5 , e ” \ ’ ”
δ᾽ ὅτι τὸν μὲν ἐσθίουσιν ot ὄρνιθες τὸν δ᾽ ov.
\ \ o
τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ TOV κιττὸν οὕτως ἔχει.
“ \ is ΄
‘H δὲ σμῖλάξ ἐστι μὲν ἐπαλλόκαυλον, ὁ δὲ
\ > / \ ef ’ / \
καυλὸς ἀκανθώδης καὶ ὥσπερ ὀρθάκανθος, τὸ
\ 7 lal \ ’ / \ \
δὲ φύλλον κιττῶδες μικρὸν ἀγώνιον, κατὰ τὴν
, ’ / lo δ᾽ Ὡ /
μίσχου πρόσφυσιν τυληρὸν. ἴδιον δ᾽ ὅτι THY TE
γ΄, , ξκκΚ'ὶ
διὰ μέσου ταύτην ὥσπερ ῥάχιν λεπτὴν ἔχει
Ν \ / ὃ Z, ᾽ > \ /
Kal τὰς στημονίους διαλήψεις οὐκ ἀπὸ ταύτης,
.“ \ n » > \ \ > \ an
ὥσπερ TA τῶν ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ περὶ αὑτὴν περιφερεῖς
’ Ν n / “ 7 an
ἠγμένας ἀπὸ τῆς προσφύσεως τοῦ μίσχου τῷ
/ \ \ a a \ / \
φύλλῳ. παρὰ δὲ τοῦ καυλοῦ τὰ γόνατα Kal
\ / \ \ a a
Tapa Tas διαλείψεις Tas φυλλικὰς ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν
val / / »
μίσχων τοῖς φύλλοις παραπέφυκεν ἴουλος λεπτὸς
Ν « , ” \ \ \ , A ἡ
καὶ ἑλικτός: ἄνθος δὲ λευκὸν καὶ εὐῶδες λείρινον"
1 σμῖλαξ: μῖλαξ W. οἵ. 1. 10. 5; Plin. 16. 153-155.
2 ἐπαλλόκαυλον conj. Sch.; ἐπαυλόκαυλον V. cf. 3. 18. 10.
3 καυλὸς conj. R. Const.; καρπὸς UMVAId.
4 rudAnpdv conj. W.; νοτηρόν Ald.U (corrected).
5 ταύτην: cf. τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτο, 3. 7. 3. Is the pronoun
278
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvii. 10-11
characteristic, that it regularly puts forth roots from
the shoots between the leaves, by means of which
it gets a hold of trees and walls, as if these roots
were made by nature on purpose. Wherefore also
by withdrawing and drinking up the moisture it
starves its host, while, if it is cut off below, it is able
to survive and live. There are also other not incon-
siderable differences in the fruit; both in the white
and in the black kind it is in some cases rather
sweet, in others extremely bitter ; in proof whereof
birds eat one but not the other. Such are the
facts about ivy.
The smilax! is parasitic,? but its stem? is thorny
and has, as it were, straight thorns; the leaf is ivy-
like small and without angles, and makes a callus‘
at the junction with the stalk. A peculiarity of
it is its conspicuous® slender midrib, so to call it,
which divides it in two; also the fact that the
thread-like branchings ® do not start from this, as in
other leaves, but are carried in circles round it,
starting from the junction of the leaflet with the
leaf. And at the joints of the stem’ and the
spaces between the leaves there grows from the
same stalk as the leaves a fine spiral tendril.* The
flower is white and fragrant like a lily? The fruit
deictic, referring to an actual specimen shewn in lecture?
cf. also 4. 7. 1.
ὁ διαλήψεις Ald.; διαλείψεις UMV. A mistake probably
due to διαλείψεις below, where it is right. διάληψις is the
Aristotelian word for a ‘division.’
7 χοῦ καυλοῦ τὰ γόνατα conj. Sch.; τὸν καυλὸν τὸν ἄτονον Ald.
8 This must be the meaning of ἴουλος here, qualified by
ἑλικτός ; but elsewhere it=catkin. cf. 3. 5. 5.
9 relpwov conj. R. Const. from Plin. l.c. olente lilium ;
ἠρινόν UAId.
279
12
13
THEOPHRASTUS
\ a a
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἔχει προσεμφερῆ τῷ στρύχνῳ Kal
a ΄ \ / “ / tal
τῷ μηλώθρῳ καὶ μάλιστα TH καλουμένῃ σταφυλῇ
/ ᾽ ’ al
ἀγρίᾳ: κατακρέμαστοι δ᾽ οἱ βότρυες κιττοῦ τρό-
7, ε
mov: παρεγγίζει δ᾽ ὁ παραθριγκισμὸς πρὸς τὴν
΄ \ \ \ -
σταφυλήν: ἀπὸ γὰρ ἑνὸς σημείου οἱ μίσχοι οἱ
ῥαγικοί. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἐρυθρός, ἔχων πυρῆνας τὸ
μὲν ἐπὶ πᾶν δύο, ἐν τοῖς μείζοσι τρεῖς ἐν δὲ τοῖς
Wee x 4. ee A * ΄, \ A
μικροῖς ἕνα: σκληρὸς δ᾽ ὁ πυρὴν εὖ μάλα Kal τῷ
/ / ” »” \ \ lal 4
χρώματι μέλας ἔξωθεν. ἴδιον δὲ τὸ τῶν βοτρύων,
¢ /
OTL ἐκ πλαγίων TE TOV καυλὸν παραθριγκίζουσιν,
« i / rn ΄-
καὶ κατ᾽ ἄκρον ὁ μέγιστος βότρυς τοῦ καυλοῦ,
ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ῥάμνου καὶ τοῦ βάτου. τοῦτο δὲ
fal , ,
δῆλον ὡς καὶ ἀκρόκαρπον καὶ πλαγιόκαρπον.
> / ’ὔ
[Τὸ δ᾽ εὐώνυμος καλούμενον δένδρον φύεται μὲν
’ a nm δ4, rn
ἄλλοθί τε καὶ τῆς Λέσβου ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ᾿Ορδύν-
/
vw καλουμένῳ" ἔστι δὲ ἡλίκον ῥόα Kal TO φύλλον
a “ \
ἔχει ῥοῶδες, μεῖζον δὲ ἢ χαμαιδάφνης, καὶ μαλα-
ἣς \ “ e ee id Ν ’ A
κὸν δὲ ὥσπερ ἡ poa. ἡ δὲ βχλάστησις ἄρχεται
\ > a \ οἷ La) > -" \ a
μὲν αὐτῷ περὶ τὸν ἸΠοσειδεῶνα: ἀνθεῖ δὲ τοῦ
= \ Ν Ψ Ὁ Ἁ Ud a a
ἦρος" τὸ δὲ ἄνθος ὅμοιον THY χρόαν τῷ λευκῷ
” yv \ \ “ , ς Ν Ν
iw: ὄζει δὲ δεινὸν ὥσπερ φόνου. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς
’ Ἁ Ν \ \ a 4, an “-“
ἐμφερὴς τὴν μορφὴν μετὰ τοῦ κελύφους τῷ τοῦ
σησάμου λοβῷ: ἔνδοθεν δὲ στερεὸν πλὴν διηρη-
ἘΝ \ a
μένον κατὰ τὴν τετραστοιχίαν. τοῦτο ἐσθιό-
1 , Presumably σ. ὁ ἐδώδιμος. See Index.
3 παρεγγίζει δ᾽ ὃ παραθριγκισμὸς I con). .» Cf. παραθριγκίζουσι
below ; παρωγγύζει δὲ παραθρινακίζει δὲ ὡς Us; παραγγίζει δὲ
παραθρηνακίζει δὲ ὡς MV; παραθριγκίζει δὲ ὡς conj. W.
280
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 11-13
is like the strykhnos! and the melothron (bryony),
and most of all like the berry which is called the
‘wild grape’ (bryony). The clusters hang down as
in the ivy, but the regular setting” of the berries
resembles the grape-cluster more closely; for the
stalks which bear the berries start from a single
point. The fruit is red, having generally two stones,
the larger ones three and the smaller one; the
stone is very hard and in eolour black outside. A
peculiarity of the clusters is that they make a row ὃ
along the sides of the stalk, and the longest cluster
is at the end of the stalk, as in the buckthorn and
the bramble. It is clear that the fruit is produced
both at the end and at the sides.
4 The tree called the spindle-tree > grows, among
other places, in Lesbos, on the mountain called
Ordynnos.6 It is as large as the pomegranate and
has a leaf like that of that tree, but larger than that
of the periwinkle,’ and soft, like the pomegranate
leaf. It begins to shoot about the month Poseideon,®
and flowers in the spring; the flower in colour is
like the gilliflower, but it has a horrible smell, like
shed blood.? The fruit, with its case, is like the
pod of sesame 10 ; inside it is hard, but it splits easily
according to its four divisions. This tree, if eaten
3 παραθριγκίζουσιν conj. Sch.; παραθρυγκίζουσαν U (cor-
rected) ; παραθρυγγίζουσι M
4 This section down to the word ἀνόχῳ is clearly out of
place : εὐώνυμος was not one of the plants proposed for dis-
cussion 3. 18. 1. It should come somewhere among the
descriptions of trees characteristic of special localities.
& Pim. 13.108: © cf. Plim: 5.140:
7 This irrelevant comparison probably indicates confusion
in the text, as is shewn also by Pletho’s excerpt of part of
this section: see Sch.
8 January. 9 φόνον: cf. 6. 4. 6. rh (eh tong) ἄν δὲ.
281
THEOPHRASTUS
μενον ὑπὸ τῶν προβάτων ἀποκτιννύει, καὶ τὸ
φύλλον καὶ ὁ καρπός, καὶ μάλιστα τὰς αἶγας
ἐὰν μὴ καθάρσεως τύχῃ. καθαίρεται δὲ ἀν-
όχῳ.] περὶ μὲν οὖν δένδρων. καὶ θάμνων
εἴρηται" ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἑξῆς περὶ τῶν λειπομένων
λεκτέον.
282
BNQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 111. xyni 13
by sheep, is fatal1 to them, both the leaf and the
fruit, and it is especially fatal to goats unless they
are purged by it; and the purging is effected by
diarrhoea.? So we have spoken of trees and
shrubs; in what follows we must speak of the
plants which remain.
1 In Pletho’s excerpt (see above) this is said of periwinkle.
2.2.6. and not by vomiting.
283
εὐ ihe Pe ancnesaNr ΠΣ ΠΣ ΝΣ
μι: 7} where a
rey Ἢ a #
τῶ Ἵν ᾿
: . * i
ie _y iy ut PA ἣν We ὯΝ poly Ν oe
oe eee Pie ᾿ ἯΙ
bia hay ia hina.¢) eid) ἐνόσῳ yivey Jen nth 9.5 nt
τ ον yd teu bad “1.8
ἐξα) ᾿
᾿ ; 7 os
eee eT ΔΝ
a oe? a
BOOK IV
A
¢ A 9 n ᾿ cal ,
Ι. Αἱ μὲν οὖν διαφοραι τῶν ὁμογενῶν τεθεώ-
/ > “ > /
ρηνται πρότερον. ἅπαντα δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις
/ / / \ a ᾽ a \
τόποις καλλίω γίνεται καὶ μᾶλλον εὐσθενεῖ: καὶ
\ an / > / a
yap τοῖς ἀγρίοις εἰσὶν ἑκάστοις οἰκεῖοι, καθάπερ
a ς / \ \ \ - \ > 4
τοῖς ἡμέροις" τὰ μὲν yap φιλεῖ τοὺς ἐφύδρους
ἈΝ Ψψ' ,ὔ - » / ’ / AY ef. \
καὶ ἑλώδεις, οἷον αἰγειρος λεύκη LTEA καὶ ὅλως τὰ
\ \ \ / \ A \
Tapa TOUS ποταμοὺς φυόμενα, τὰ δὲ TOUS εὐσκε-
a \ > / \ \ na \ /
πεῖς καὶ EUNALOUS, τὰ δὲ μᾶλλον τοὺς παλισκίους.
ee \ \ lal , / \
πεύκη μὲν yap ἐν τοῖς προσείλοις καλλίστη καὶ
, \ lal / ¢ > /
μεγίστη, ἐν δὲ τοῖς παλισκίοις ὅλως οὐ φύεται:
al /
ἐλάτη δὲ ἀνάπαλιν ἐν τοῖς παλισκίοις καλλίστη
a b) ΩΡ «
τοῖς δ᾽ εὐείλοις οὐχ ὁμοίως.
’ » / fal N \ /
Ἐν Apkadia γοῦν περὶ τὴν Κράνην καλου-
μένην τόπος ἐστί τις κοῖλος καὶ ἄπνους, εἰς ὃν
/ > of /
οὐδέποθ᾽ ὅλως ἥλιον ἐμβάλλειν φασίν: ἐν τούτῳ
\ \ 7 Gr 5 / \ fal Y 4
δὲ πολὺ διαφέρουσιν ai ἐλάται Kal TO μήκει Kal
ων / \ € , ’ ’ lal
τῷ πάχει, οὐ μὴν ὁμοίως γε πυκναὶ οὐδ᾽ ὡραῖαι
᾽ © a “
arr ἥκιστα, καθάπερ καὶ αἱ πεῦκαι αἱ ἐν τοῖς
᾽ > ἃ \ \ \ fal lal
παλισκίοις: Ob ὃ Kal πρὸς τὰ πολυτελῆ τῶν
» * / \ » ” a
ἔργων, οἷον θυρώματα καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο σπουδαῖον,
3 Lal / \ \ \ ’
οὐ χρῶνται τούτοις ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ναυπηγίας
cr \ \ > \
μᾶλλον Kal τὰς οἰκοδομάς" Kal yap δοκοὶ κάλλι-
286
BOOK IV
Or THE TREES AND PLANTS SPECIAL TO PARTICULAR
DISTRICTS AND POSITIONS.
Of the importance of position and climate.
I. Tue differences between trees of the same kind
have already been considered. Now all grow fairer
and are more vigorous in their proper positions ; for
wild, no less than cultivated trees, have each their
own positions: some love wet and marshy ground, as
black poplar abele willow, and in general those that
grow by rivers; some love exposed! and sunny
positions; some prefer a shady place. The fir is
fairest and tallest in a sunny position, and does not
grow at all in a shady one; the silver-fir on the
contrary is fairest in a shady place, and not so
vigorous in a sunny one.
Thus there is in Arcadia near the place called
Krane a low-lying district sheltered from wind, into
which they say that the sun never strikes; and in
this district the silver-firs excel greatly in height and
stoutness, though they have not such close grain
nor such comely wood, but quite the reverse,—like
the fir when it grows in a shady place. Where-
fore men do not use these for expensive work, such
as doors or other choice articles, but rather for
ship-building and house-building. For excellent
1 εὐσκεπεῖς should mean ‘sheltered,’ but cannot in this
context, nor in C.P. 1. 13. 11 and 12: the word seems to
have been confused with εὔσκοποϑ.
287
THEOPHRASTUS
σται καὶ τανεῖαι Kal κέραιαι αἱ ἐκ τούτων, éTt δ᾽
ἱστοὶ τῷ μήκει διαφέροντες ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως
ἰσχυροί: καὶ ἐ ἐκ τῶν προσείλων ἅμα τῇ βραχύτητι
πυκνότεροί τε ἐκείνων καὶ ἰσχυρότεροι γίνονται.
Χαίρει δὲ σφόδρα καὶ ἡ μίλος τοῖς παλισκίοις
καὶ ἡ πάδος καὶ ἡ ᾿θραύπαλος. mepl δὲ Tas
κορυφὰς τῶν ὀρέων καὶ τοὺς ψυχροὺς τόπους θυία
μὲν φύεται καὶ εἰς ὕψος, ἐλάτη δὲ καὶ ἄρκευθος
φύεται μὲν οὐκ εἰς ὕψος δέ, καθάπερ καὶ περὶ τὴν
ἄκραν Κυλλήνην: φύεται δὲ καὶ ἡ κήλαστρος
ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων καὶ χειμεριωτάτων. ταῦτα μὲν
οὖν ἄν τις θείη φιλόψυχρα" τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα πάντα
ὡς εἰπεῖν [οὐ] μᾶλλον χαίρει τοῖς προσείλοις.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο συμβαίνει κατὰ τὴν
χώραν τὴν οἰκείαν ἑκάστῳ τῶν δένδρων. ἐν
Κρήτῃ γοῦν φασιν ἐν τοῖς ᾿Ιδαίοις ὄρεσι καὶ ἐν τοῖς
Λευκοῖς καλουμένοις ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων ὅθεν οὐδέποτ᾽
ἐπιλείπει χιὼν κυπάριττον εἶναι: πλείστη γὰρ
αὕτη τῆς ὕλης καὶ ὅλως ἐν τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς
ὄρεσιν.
Ἔστι δέ, ὥ ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον. εἴρηται, καὶ τῶν
ἀγρίων καὶ τῶν ἡμέρων τὰ μὲν ὀρεινὰ τὰ δὲ
πεδεινὰ μᾶλλον. ἀναλογίᾳ δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς
ὄρεσι τὰ μὲν ἐν τοῖς ὑποκάτω τὰ δὲ περὶ τὰς
κορυφάς, ὥστε καὶ καλλίω γίνεται καὶ εὐσθενῆ
πανταχοῦ δὲ καὶ πάσης τῆς ὕλης πρὸς βορρᾶν
τὰ ξύλα πυκνότερα καὶ οὐλότερα καὶ ἁπλῶς
καλλίω: καὶ ὅλως δὲ πλείω ἐν τοῖς προσβορείοις
φύεται. αὐξάνεται δὲ καὶ ἐπιδίδωσι τὰ πυκνὰ
11 omit ai before κέραιαι with P.
2 ἅμα I conj.; ἀλλὰ Ald.; om. W. after Sch.; ἀλλ᾽ ἅμα
conj. St.
288
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV.1. 2-4
rafters beams and yard-arms! are made from these,
and also masts of great length which are not however
equally strong ; while masts made of trees grown in
a sunny place are necessarily? short but of closer
grain and stronger than the others.
Yew pados and joint-fir rejoice exceedingly in
shade. On mountain tops and in cold positions
odorous cedar grows even to a height, while silver-fir
and Phoenician cedar grow, but not to a height,—
for instance on the top of Mount Cyllene ; and holly
also grows in high and very wintry positions. These
trees then we may reckon as cold-loving; all others,
one may say in general, prefer a sunny position.
However this too depends partly on the soil appro-
priate to each tree; thus they say that in Crete on
the mountains of Ida and on those called the White
Mountains the cypress is found on the peaks whence
the snow never disappears ; for this is the principal
tree both in the island generally and in the moun-
tains.
Again, as has been said 8 already, both of wild and
of cultivated trees some belong more to the moun-
tains, some to the plains. And on the mountains
themselves in proportion to the height some grow
fairer * and more vigorous in the lower regions, some
about the peaks. However it is true of all trees
anywhere that with a north aspect the wood is
closer and more compact?® and better generally; and,
generally speaking, more trees grow in positions
facing the north. Again trees which are close
$3. 2. 4.
4 Something seems to have dropped out before ὥστε.
5 οὐλότερα conj. W. from mutilated word in Ὁ; καλλιώτερα
MV; καλλίω Ald.
289
THEOPHRASTUS
\ y - ’ a γ) A \ Mv \
μὲν ὄντα μᾶλλον εἰς μῆκος, δι᾿ ὃ Kal ἄνοξα καὶ
n / A
εὐθέα καὶ ὀρθοφυῆ γίνεται, καὶ κωπεῶνες ἐκ
\ \ lal
τούτων κάλλιστοι: «τὰ δὲ pava> μᾶλλον εἰς
’ a ΄
βάθος καὶ πάχος, δι ὃ καὶ σκολιώτερα καὶ
οὗ δον ΄ ,
ὀζωδέστερα Kal TO ὅλον TTEPEWTEPA καὶ TUKVOTEPA
φύεται.
\ \ \ ᾽ Ν ” ὃ \ /
Σχεδὸν δὲ τὰς αὐτὰς ἔχει διαφορὰς τούτοις
a / al /
Kal ἐν τοῖς παλισκίοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς εὐείλοις καὶ ἐν
a , \ , ’ / \
τοῖς ἀπνόοις Kal εὐπνόοις: ὀζωδέστερα yap Kal
/ \ -
βραχύτερα καὶ ἧττον εὐθέα τὰ ἐν τοῖς εὐείλοις
a / ef \ δ an
ἢ τοῖς προσηνέμοις. ὅτι δὲ ἕκαστον ζητεῖ καὶ
- Se fal
χώραν οἰκείαν καὶ κρᾶσιν ἀέρος φανερὸν τῷ τὰ
’ \ \ \ /
μὲν φέρειν ἐνίους τόπους τὰ δὲ μὴ φέρειν μήτε
, he
αὐτὰ γιγνόμενα μήτε φυτευόμενα ῥᾳδίως, ἐὰν δὲ
a ῇ a
Kal ἀντιλάβηται μὴ καρποφορεῖν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ
al > ,
φοίνικος ἐλέχθη καὶ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας συκαμίνου
Ν / ’
καὶ ἄλλων: εἰσὶ γὰρ πλείω καὶ ἐν πλείοσι χώραις
\ \ a > / Ἀ δὲ ’ \
τὰ μὲν ὅλως ov φυόμενα τὰ δὲ φυόμενα μὲν
» an \ ἡ. \ Nie: al \
ἀναυξῆ δὲ καὶ ἄκαρπα καὶ τὸ ὅλον φαῦλα. περὶ
/ > 4 e Ψ
ὧν ἴσως λεκτέον ἐφ᾽ ὅσον ἔχομεν ἱστορίας.
II. ᾽Εν Αἰγύπτῳ γάρ ἐστιν ἴδια δένδρα πλείω,
/
ἥ TE συκάμινος καὶ ἡ περσέα καλουμένη καὶ ἡ
/ \ δ 9 App 88 pee |
βάλανος καὶ ἡ ἄκανθα καὶ ἕτερ᾽ ἄττα.
\ / / a
Ἔστι δὲ ἡ μὲν συκάμινος παραπλησία πως TH
rn , \ N Ν / /
ἐνταῦθα συκαμίνῳ" καὶ γὰρ τὸ φύλλον παρόμοιον
1 κωπεῶνες : cf. ὅ. 1. 7. 3 τὰ δὲ μανὰ add. W.
ef as 1.8: £122 22/40,
δ ὅλως... wevconj. W.; ὅλως οὐ φυτευόμενα U; ὅλως φυτευό-
μενα MVPAId,
290
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV.1. 4-1. 1
together grow and increase more in height, and so
become unbranched straight and erect, and the vest
oar-spars! are made from these, while those that
grow far apart? are of greater bulk and denser
habit?; wherefore they grow less straight and with
more branches, and in general have harder wood and
a closer grain.
Such trees exhibit nearly the same differences,
whether the position be shady or sunny, windless or
windy; for trees growing in a sunny or windy
position are more branched shorter and less straight.
Further that each tree seeks an appropriate position
and climate is plain from the fact that some districts
bear some trees but not others; (the latter do not
grow there of their own accord, nor can they easily
be made to grow), and that, even if they obtain a
hold, they do not bear fruit—as was said‘ of the
date-palm the sycamore and others; for there are
many trees which in many places either do not grow
at all, οὐ," if they do, do not thrive nor bear fruit,
but are in general of inferior quality. And perhaps
we should discuss this matter, so far as our enquiries
go.
Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob.
11. © Thus in Egypt there are a number of trees
which are peculiar’ to that country, the sycamore
the tree called persea the balanos the acacia and
some others.
Now the sycamore to a certain extent resembles
the tree which bears that name ὃ in our country ; its
§ Plin. 13. 56 and 57.
* ἴδια conj. R. Const.; ἔνια Ald.
δ 2,6. mulberry. See Index.
201
THEOPHRASTUS
ἔχει Kal τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὴν ὅλην πρόσοψιν, τὸν
δὲ καρπὸν ἰδίως φέρει παρὰ τὰ ἄλλα, καθάπερ
ἐλέχθη καὶ ἐν τοῖς εξ ἀρχῆς" οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν
βλαστῶν οὐδ᾽ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ
στελέχους, μέγεθος μὲν ἡλίκον σῦκον καὶ τῇ ὄψει
δὲ παραπλήσιον, τῷ χυλῷ δὲ καὶ τῇ γλυκύτητι
τοῖς ὀλύνθοις, πλὴν γλυκύτερον πολὺ καὶ κεγ-
χραμίδας ὅλως οὐκ ἔχοντα, πλήθει δὲ πολύν.
καὶ πέττειν οὐ δύναται μὴ ἐπικνισθέντα" ἀλλ᾽
ἔχοντες ὄνυχας σιδηροῦς ἐπικνίξουσιν' ἃ δ᾽ ἂν
ἐπικνισθῇ τεταρταῖα πέττεται' τούτων δ᾽ ἀφαι-
ρεθέντων πάλιν ἄλλα φύεται καὶ ἄλλα καὶ ἐκ
τοῦ αὐτοῦ τόπου μηδὲν παραλλάττοντα: καὶ
τοῦθ᾽ οἱ μὲν τρὶς οἱ δὲ πλεονάκις φασὶ γίνεσθαι.
πολύοπον δὲ τὸ δένδρον σφόδρα ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ ξύλον
αὐτοῦ εἰς πολλὰ χρήσιμον. ἴδιον δὲ ἔχειν δοκεῖ
παρὰ τἄλλα: τμηθὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς χλωρόν ἐστι"
αὐαίνεται δὲ ἐμβύθιον' εἰς βόθρον δὲ ἐμβάλλουσι
καὶ εἰς τὰς λίμνας εὐθὺς καὶ ταριχεύουσι'
βρεχόμενον δ᾽ ἐν τῷ βυθῷ ξηραίνεται" καὶ ὅταν
τελέως ξηρὸν γένηται, τότε ἀναφέρεται καὶ ἐπινεῖ
καὶ δοκεῖ τότε καλῶς τεταριχεῦσθαι: γίνεται γὰρ
κοῦφον καὶ μανόν. ἡ μὲν οὖν συκάμινος ἔχει
ταύτας τὰς ἰδιότητας.
ἼΒοικε δέ τις παραπλησία ἡ φύσις εἶναι καὶ
τῆς ἐν Κρήτῃ καλουμένης Κυπρίας συκῆς" καὶ
γὰρ ἐκείνη, φέρει τὸν καρπὸν ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους
καὶ ἐκ τῶν παχυτάτων ἀκρεμόνων, πλὴν ὅτι
βλαστόν τινα ἀφίησι μικρὸν ἄφυλλον ὥσπερ
ῥιζίον, πρὸς ᾧ γε ὁ καρπός. τὸ δὲ στέλεχος μέγα
Mids ef ie:
2 of. CP. 1.. 17° SP Dies. 9274" Athen. 2. 36. This
292
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. π΄ 1-3
leaf is similar, its size, and its general appearance ;
but it bears its fruit in a quite peculiar manner, as
was said at the very outset}; it is borne not on the
shoots or branches, but on the stem; in size it is as
large as a fig, which it resembles also in appearance,
but in flavour and sweetness it is like the ‘immature
figs,’ except that it is much sweeter and contains
absolutely no seeds, and it is produced in large
numbers. It cannot ripen unless it is scraped; but
they scrape it with iron ‘claws’?; the fruits thus
scraped ripen in four days. If these are removed,
others and others again grow from exactly the same
point, and this some say occurs three times over,
others say it can happen more times than that.
Again the tree is very full of sap, and its wood is
useful for many purposes. ‘There is another peculiar
property which it appears to possess; when it is
cut, it is at first green, but it dries in deep water ® ;
they put it at once in a hole or in pools and so season
it; and it becomes dry by being soaked in the deep
water, and when it is completely dry, itis fetched up
and floats and is then thought to be duly seasoned ;
for it is now light and porous. Such are the
peculiarities of the sycamore.
Somewhat similar appears to be the character of
the tree which in Crete is called the ‘Cyprian fig ’+
(sycamore). For this also bears its fruit on the stem
and on the thickest branches ; but in this case there
is a small leafless shoot, like a root, to which the
fruit is attached. The stem is large and like the
scraping was the prophet Amos’ occupation: ef. Amos 7. 14.
comm.
3 ἐμβύθιον conj. W.; eis βύθον UMVPAId. ? ἐν Bude ὃν.
4 See Index. ef. Athen. 3. 11; Plin. 13. 58; Diose. 1. 127. 3.
293
THEOPHRASTUS
Kal παρύμοιον τῇ λεύκῃ, φύλλον δὲ τῇ π᾿ "ελέᾳ.
πεπαίνει δὲ τέτταρας καρπούς, ὅσαιπερ αὐτοῦ καὶ
αἱ βλαστήσεις" οὐδένα δὲ πεπαίνει μὴ ἐπιτμη-
θέντος τοῦ ἐρινοῦ καὶ ἐκρυεντος τοῦ ὁποῦ. ἡ δὲ
γλυκύτης προσεμφερὴς τῷ σύκῳ καὶ τὰ ἔσωθεν
τοῖς ἐρινοῖς-" μέγεθος ἡλίκον κοκκύμηλον.
(Ταύτῃ δὲ παραπλησία καὶ ἣν οἱ Ἴωνες κερω-
νίαν καλοῦσιν' ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους γὰρ καὶ αὕτη
φέρει τὸν πλεῖστον καρπόν, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων,
ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, ὀλίγον. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἔλλοβος, ὃν
καλοῦσί τινες Αἰγύπτιον σῦκον διημαρτηκότες"
οὐ γίνεται γὰρ ὅλως περὶ Αἴγυπτον ἀλλ᾽ ἐν Συρίᾳ
καὶ ἐν ᾿Ιωνίᾳ δὲ καὶ περὶ Κνίδον καὶ “Ῥόδον.
ἀείφυλλον δὲ καὶ ἄνθος ἔκλευκον ἔχον καί TL
βαρύτητος, μὴ μετεωρίζον δὲ σφόδρα καὶ ὅλως
ἐκ τῶν κάτω παραβλαστητικὸν ἄνωθεν δὲ
ὑποξηραινόμενον. ἔχει δὲ ἅμα καὶ τὸν ἔνον καὶ
τὸν νέον καρπόν' ἀφαιρουμένου γὰρ θατέρου μετὰ
Κύνα καὶ ὁ ἕτερος εὐθὺς φανερὸς κυούμενος"
κύεται γὰρ ὥσπερ βότρυς ὁμοσχήμων' εἶτ᾽ αὐξη-
θεὶς ἀνθεῖ περὶ ᾿Αρκτοῦρον͵ καὶ ἰσημερίαν" ἀπὸ
τούτου δὴ διαμένει, τὸν χειμῶνα μέχρι Κυνός. ἡ
μὲν οὖν ὁμοιότης ὅτι στελεχόκαρπα καὶ ταῦτα"
διαφοραὶ δὲ αἱ εἰρημέναι πρὸς τὴν συκάμινον. )
Ἂν Αὐγύπτῳ δ᾽ ἐστὶν ἕτερον ἡ περσέα καλού-
μενον, τῇ μὲν προσόψει μέγα καὶ καλόν, παρα-
πλήσιον δὲ μάλιστα τῇ ἀπίῳ καὶ φύλλοις καὶ
ἄνθεσι καὶ ἀκρεμόσι καὶ τῷ ὅλῳ σχήματι" πλὴν
1 ὕσαιπερ conj. R. Const., etc., ef. Athen. 1.6.; ὅσα ὑπὲρ
αὐτοῦ U (corrected); ὅσα ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν M3 boa ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ Ald.
2 Plin. 13. 59. ἢ Ὁ ee
204
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. 1. 3-5
abele, but the leaf is like that of the elm. [Ὁ ripens
its fruit four times a year, having also! four periods
of growth ; but it ripens no fruit unless the ‘fig’ is
split and the juice let out. ‘The sweet taste resembles
that of the fig, and the inside of the fruit is like
that of wild figs: it is as large as a plum.
2 (Like this too is the tree which the [onians call
carob; for this too bears most of its fruit on the
stem, though it bears a little also on the branches, as
we said.* The fruit is in a pod; some call it the
‘Egyptian fig ’—erroneously ; for it does not occur at
all in Egypt, but in Syria and Ionia and also in
Cnidos and Rhodes. It is evergreen and has a
whitish flower and is somewhat acrid; it does not
attain to a great height, and it sends out side-shoots
entirely from its lower parts, while it withers above.
It has on it at the same time both last year’s fruit
and the new fruit ; for if the one is removed after the
rising of the dog-star, immediately the other is seen
swelling up; for there swells * up as it were another
similar cluster. This then increases and flowers
about the rising of Arcturus and the equinox; and
thenceforward it ° persists through the winter to the
rising of the dog-star. The likeness then consists in
the fact that these trees too bear fruit on their stems,
and the differences between them and the sycamore
are as has been said.)
6 In Egypt there is another tree called the persea,
which in appearance is large and fair, and it most
resembles the pear in leaves flowers branches and
general form, but it is evergreen, while the other is
4 «vera: conj. W. from G; κύει MSS.
5 7.e. the cluster, now in the fruit stage.
© Plin. 13. 60 and 61.
295
THEOPHRASTUS
TO μὲν ἀείφυλλον τὸ δὲ φυλλοβόλον. καρπον δὲ
φέρει πολὺν καὶ πᾶσαν ὥραν" “περικαταλαμβάνει
γὰρ ὁ νέος, ἀεὶ τὸν ἔνον" πέττει δὲ ὑπὸ τοὺς
ἐτησίας: τὸν δ᾽ ἄλλον ὠμότερον ἀφαιροῦσι καὶ
ἀποτιθέασιν. ἔστι δὲ τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκον ἄπιος,
τῷ σχήματι δὲ πρόμακρος ἀμυγδαλώδης, χρῶμα
δὲ αὐτοῦ ποιῶδες. ἔχει δὲ ἐντὸς κάρυον, ὥσπερ
τὸ κοκκύμηλον, πλὴν ἔλαττον πολὺ καὶ μαλακώ-
τερον; τὴν δὲ σάρκα γλυκεῖαν σφόδρα καὶ ἡδεῖαν
καὶ εὔπεπτον' οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐνοχλεῖ πολὺ προσ-
ενεγκαμένων. εὔριξον δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ μήκει
καὶ πάχει καὶ πλήθει πολύ' ἔχει δὲ καὶ ξύλον
ἰσχυρὸν καὶ καλὸν τῇ ὄψει μέλαν, ὥσπερ ὁ λωτός,
ἐξ» ov xal τὰ ἀγάλματα καὶ τὰ κλινία καὶ
τραπέξια καὶ τἄλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦσιν.
Ἡ δὲ βάλανος ἔχει μὲν τὴν προσηγορίαν ἀπὸ
τοῦ καρποῦ" φύλλον δ᾽ αὐτῇ παραπλήσιον τῷ
τῆς μυρρίνης πλὴν προμηκέστερον. ἔστι δὲ τὸ
δένδρον εὐπαχὲς μὲν καὶ εὐμέγεθες, οὐκ εὐφυὲς
δὲ ἀλλὰ παρεστραμμένον. τοῦ “καρποῦ δὲ τοῖς
κελύφεσι χρῶνται οἱ μυρεψοὶ κόπτοντες" εὐῶδες
γὰρ ἔχει τὸν δὲ καρπὸν αὐτὸν ἀχρεῖον. ἔστι δὲ
καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῇ ὄψει παραπλήσιος τῷ τῆς
καππάριος" ξύλον δὲ ὦ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ εἰς ἄλλα τε
χρήσιμον καὶ εἰς τὰς ναυπηγίας.
Τὸ δὲ καλούμενον κουκιόφορόν ἐστιν ὅμοιον τῷ
φοίνικι" τὴν δὲ ὁμοιότητα κατὰ τὸ στέλεχος
ἔχει καὶ τὰ φύλλα: διαφέρει. δὲ ὅτε ὁ μὲν φοῖνιξ
μονοφυὲς καὶ ἁπλοῦν ἐστι, τοῦτο δὲ προσαυξηθὲν
σχίζεται καὶ γίνεται δίκρουν, εἶτα πάλιν ἑκάτερον
1 ἀποτιθέασιν conj. R. Const. from G (recondunt) ; τιθέασι
UMVAIld.
2906
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. u. 5-7
deciduous. It bears abundant fruit and at every
season, for the new fruit always overtakes that of
last year. It ripens its fruit at the season of the
etesian winds: the other fruit they gather somewhat
unripe and store! it. In size it is as large as a pear,
but in shape it is oblong, almond-shaped, and _ its
colour is grass-green. It has inside a stone like the
plum, but much smaller and softer; the flesh is
sweet and luscious and easily digested; for it does
no hurt if one eats it in quantity. The tree has good
roots as to length thickness and number. Moreover
its wood is strong and fair in appearance, black like
the nettle-tree: out of it men make their images
beds tables and other such things.
2 The balanos gets its name from its fruit’; its leaf
is like that of the myrtle* but it is longer. The
tree is of a good stoutness°® and stature, but not of a
good shape, being crooked. The perfumers use the
husks of the fruit, which they bruise; for this is
fragrant, though the fruit itself is useless. In size
and appearance it is like the fruit of the caper; the
wood is strong and useful for shipbuilding and other
purposes.
6 The tree called the doum-palm is like the date-
palm ; the resemblance is in the stem and the leaves,
but it differs in that the date-palm is a tree with a
single undivided stem, while the other, as it increases,
splits and becomes forked,’ and then each of the two
2 Plin. 13. 61.
8 s.e. it is like an acorn (SaAavos).
4 μυρρίνης MVPAId.; puplens U.
> εὐπαχὲς conj. Sch.; εὐπαθὲς U; ἀπαθὲς Ald. H.
© Piin..13;62.
7 cf. 2.6.9, where the same tree is evidently indicated.
δίκρουν conj. Salm., Scal., etc.; ἄκρον UAld. H.
207
THEOPHRASTUS
TOUTWY ὁμοιως" ἔτι δὲ τὰς ῥάβδους βραχείας ἔ ἔχει
σφόδρα καὶ οὐ πολλας. χρῶνται δὲ τῷ φύλλῳ,
καθάπερ τῷ φοίνικι, πρὸς τὰ πλέγματα. καρπὸν
δὲ ἰδιον ἔχει πολὺ διαφέροντα καὶ μεγέθει καὶ
σχήματι καὶ χυλῷ: μέγεθος μὲν γὰρ ἔχει σχεδὸν
χειροπληθές" στρογγύλον δὲ καὶ οὐ προμήκη"
χρῶμα ἐπίξανθον' χυλὸν δὲ γλυκὺν καὶ εὔστομον'
οὐκ ἀθρόον δέ, ὥ ὥσπερ ὁ φοῖνιξ, ἀλλὰ κεχωρισμένον
καθ᾽ ἕνα" πυρῆνα δὲ μέγαν καὶ σφόδρα σκληρόν,
ἐξ οὗ τοὺς κρίκους τορνεύουσι τοὺς εἰς τοὺς
στρωματεῖς τοὺς διαποικίλους" διαφέρει δὲ πολὺ
τὸ ξύλον τοῦ φοίνικος: τὸ μὲν γὰρ μανὸν καὶ
ἰνῶδες καὶ χαῦνον, τὸ δὲ πυκνὸν καὶ βαρὺ καὶ
σαρκῶδες καὶ διατμηθὲν οὗλον σφόδρα καὶ
σκληρόν ἐστιν. καὶ οἵ γε δὴ Πέρσαι πάνυ
ἐτίμων αὐτὸ καὶ ἐκ τούτου τῶν κλινῶν ἐποιοῦντο
τοὺς πόδας.
el δὲ ἄκανθα καλεῖται μὲν διὰ τὸ ἀκανθῶδες
ὅλον τὸ δένδρον εἶναι πλὴν τοῦ στελέχους" καὶ
γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν βλαστῶν
καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φύλλων ἔχει. μεγέθει δὲ μέγα, καὶ
γὰρ δωδεκάπηχυς ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐρέψιμος ὕλη τέμνεται.
διττὸν δὲ τὸ γένος, αὐτῆς, ἡ μὲν yap ἐστι λευκὴ
ἡ δὲ μέλαινα" καὶ ἡ μὲν λευκὴ ἀσθενής τε καὶ
εὔσηπτος: ἡ δὲ μέλαινα ἰσχυροτέρα τε καὶ
ἄσηπτος, δι’ ὃ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ναυπηγίαις χρῶνται
πρὸς τὰ ἐγκοίλια αὐτῇ. τὸ δένδρον δὲ οὐκ ἄγαν
ὀρθοφυές. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἔλλοβος, καθάπερ τῶν
χεδροπῶν, ¢ ὦ χρῶνται οἱ ἐγχώριοι πρὸς τὰ δέρματα
ἀντὶ κηκίδος. τὸ δ᾽ ἄνθος καὶ τῇ ὄψει καλόν,
ὥστε καὶ στεφάνους ποιεῖν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ φαρμα-
298
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. πὶ 7-8
branches forks again: moreover the twigs are very
short and not numerous. ‘They use the leaf, like the
palm-leaf, for plaiting. It has a peculiar fruit, very
different from that of the date-palm in size form and
taste; for in size it is nearly big enough to fill the
hand, but it is round rather than long ; the colour is
yellowish, the flavour sweet and palatable. It does
not grow bunched together, like the fruit of the date-
palm, but each fruit grows separately ; it has a large
and very hard stone, out of which they turn the
rings for embroidered bed-hangings.1_ The wood is
very different to that of the date-palm; whereas the
latter is of loose texture fibrous and porous,” that of
the doum-palm is close heavy and fleshy, and when
split is exceedingly compact and hard. The Persians *
used to esteem it highly and made the feet of their
couches out of it.
4The akantha (acacia) is so called because the
whole tree is spinous (akanthodes) except the stem;
for it has spines on the branches shoots and leaves.
It is of large stature, since lengths of timber for
roofing of twelve cubits are cut from it. There are
two kinds, the white and the black ; the white is weak
and easily decays, the black is stronger and _ less
liable to decay ; wherefore they use it in shipbuilding
for the ribs.6 The tree is not very erect in growth.
The fruit is in a pod, like that of leguminous plants,
and the natives use it for tanning hides instead of
gall. 6 The flower is very beautiful in appearance, so
that they make garlands of it, and it has medicinal
Plin. l.c., velares annulos ; ef. Athen. 12. 71, ad jin.
χαῦνον conj. Sch.; χλωρὸν Ald.
i.e. during their occupation of Egypt.
Plin. 13. 63; Athen. 15. 25.
cf. Hdt. 2. 96. 6 ef. Athen. l.c.
ee & NF
299
10
11
THEOPHRASTUS
κῶδες, δι’ ὃ Kal συλλέγουσιν οἱ ἰατροί. γίνεται
δὲ ἐκ ταύτης καὶ τὸ κόμμι" καὶ ῥέει καὶ πλη-
γείσης καὶ αὐτόματον ἄνευ σχάσεως. ὅταν δὲ
κοπῇ, μετὰ τρίτον ἔτος εὐθὺς ἀναβεβλάστηκε'
πολὺ δὲ τὸ δένδρον ἐστί, καὶ δρυμὸς μέγας περὶ
τὸν Θηβαϊκὸν νόμον, οὗπερ καὶ ἡ δρῦς καὶ ἡ
περσέα πλείστη καὶ ἡ ἐλάα.
Καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἐλάα περὶ τοῦτον τὸν τόπον ἐστί,
τῷ ποταμῷ μὲν οὐκ ,ἀρδευομένη, πλείω γὰρ ἢ
τριακόσια στάδια ἀπέχει, ναματιαίοις δ᾽ ὕδασιν"
εἰσὶ γὰρ κρῆναι πολλαί. τὸ δ᾽ ἔλαιον οὐδὲν
χεῖρον τοῦ ἐνθάδε, πλὴν κακωδέστερον διὰ τὸ
σπανίοις τοῖς ἁλσὶ χρῆσθαι" φύσει δὲ τὸ ξύλον
τοῦ δένδρου. καὶ σκληρὸν καὶ παραπλήσιον
τεμνόμενον τὴν χρόαν τῷ λωτίνῳ.
"AdXo δέ τι δένδρον ἡ κοκκυμηλέα, μέγα μὲν
τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τὴν φύσιν τοῦ καρποῦ ὅμοιον τοῖς
μεσπίλοις, καὶ τὸ μέγεθος παραπλήσιον πλὴν
ἔχοντα πυρῆνα στρογγύλον᾽ ἄρχεται δὲ ἀνθεῖν
μηνὸς Πυανεψιῶνος, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν πεπαίνει περὶ
ἡλίου τροπὰς em aed ἀείφυλλον δ᾽ ἐστίν.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὴν Θηβαΐδα κατοικοῦντες διὰ τὴν
ἀφθονίαν. τοῦ δένδρου ξηραίνουσι τὸν καρπὸν καὶ
τὸν πυρῆνα ἐξαιροῦντες κόπτουσι καὶ ποιοῦσι
παλάθας.
ὕλημα δὲ ἴδιόν te φύεται περὶ Μέμφιν, οὐ
κατὰ φύλλα καὶ βλαστοὺς καὶ τὴν ὅλην μορφὴν
cf. Hdt. le.
σχάσεως conj. R. Const. ; σχίσεω- Ald.
πλείστη conj. R. Const.; πλεκτὴ UMVAId.
cf. C.P. 6. 8. 7, where this olive is said to produce no oil.
cf. Strabo, 17. 1. 35.
300
σ δ OND
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. u. 8-11
properties, wherefore physicians gather it. 1Gum
is also produced from it, which flows both when the
tree is wounded and also of its own accord without
any incision? being made. When the tree is cut
down, after the third year it immediately shoots up
again ; it is a common tree, and there is a great wood
of it in the Thebaid, where grow the oak, the persea
in great abundance,’ and the olive.
*For the olive also grows in that district, though
it is not watered by the river, being more than 300
furlongs distant from it, but by brooks; for there
are many springs. The oil produced is not inferior
to that of our country, except that it has a less
pleasing smell,°> because it has not a sufficient
natural supply of salt.6 The wood of the tree is hard
in character, and, when split, is like in colour’ to
that of the nettle-tree.
8There is another tree, the (Egyptian) plum
(sebesten), which is of great stature, and the
character of its fruit® is like the medlar (which it
resembles in size), except that it has a round stone.
It begins to flower in the month Pyanepsion,!° and
ripens its fruit about the winter solstice, and it is
evergreen.!! The inhabitants of the Thebaid, because
of the abundance of the tree, dry the fruit; they
take out the stones, bruise it, and make cakes of it.
There is a peculiar bush 12. which grows about
Memphis, whose peculiarity does not lie in its leaves
8 σπανίοις. .. φύσει conj. W.; σπανίως τοῖς ἁλσὶ xp. τῇ
φύσει Ald.; so U, but omitting τῇ.
11,6. places ςἵ. 4. 8.1. § Plin. 13. 64 and 65.
9 τοῦ καρποῦ add. Scal. from G and Plin. U.c. 10 October.
11 ἀείφυλλον conj. Scal. from Gand Plin./.c.; φύλλον UM V Ald.
12 Mimosa asperata ; see Index, App. (2). ὕλημα conj. Scal.
from G (materia); οἴδημα MAId.U (corrected).
301
12
THEOPHRASTUS
ἔχον τὸ ἴδιον ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὸ συμβαῖνον περὶ αὐτὸ
πάθος: ἡ μὲν γὰρ πρόσοψις ἀκανθώδης ἐστὶν
αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ φύλλον παρόμοιον ταῖς πτερ-
iow? ὅταν δέ τις ἅψηται τῶν κλωνίων, ὥσπερ
ἀφαναινόμενα τὰ φύλλα συμπίπτειν φασὶν εἶτα
μετά τινα χρόνον ἀναβιώσκεσθαι πάλιν καὶ
θάλλειν. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἴδια τῆς χώρας. ὅσα γ᾽
ἂν δένδρα τις ἢ θάμνους εἴποι, τά γ᾽ ἐπιφανέ-
στατα ταῦτ᾽ ἐστί. περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ
καὶ τοῖς ἕλεσιν ὕστερον ἐροῦμεν, ὅταν καὶ περὶ
τῶν ἄλλων ἐνύδρων.
[Ἅπαντα δὲ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τὰ δένδρα τὰ τοιαῦτα
μεγάλα καὶ τοῖς μήκεσι καὶ τοῖς πάχεσιν' ἐν
γοῦν “Μέμφιδι τηλικοῦτο δένδρον εἶναι λέγεται
τὸ πάχος, ὃ τρεῖς ἄνδρες οὐ δύνανται περιλαμβά-
νειν. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τμηθὲν τὸ ξύλον καλόν: πυκνόν
τε γὰρ σφόδρα καὶ τῷ ᾿ χρώματι λωτοειδές.
III. Ἔν Λιβύῃ δὲ ὁ λωτὸς πλεῖστος καὶ κάλ-
λιστος καὶ ὁ παλίουρος καὶ ἔν τισι μέρεσι τῇ τε
Νασαμωνικῇ καὶ παρ᾽ Ἄμμωνι καὶ ἄλλοις ὁ
φοῖνιξ' ἐν δὲ τῇ Κυρηναίᾳ κυπάρισσος καὶ ἐλάαι
τε κάλλισται καὶ ἔλαιον πλεῖστον. ἰδιώτατον
δὲ πάντων τὸ σίλφιον" ἔτι κρόκον πολὺν ἡ χώρα
φέρ εἰ καὶ εὔοσμον. ἔστι δὲ τοῦ λωτοῦ τὸ μὲν
ὅλον δένδρον ἴδιον εὐμέγεθες ἡλίκον ἄπιος ἢ
μικρὸν ἔλαττον" φύλλον δὲ ἐντομὰς ἔχον καὶ
πρινῶδες" τὸ μὲν ξύλον μέλαν' γένη δὲ αὐτοῦ
πλείω διαφορὰς ἔχοντα τοῖς καρποῖς" ὁ δὲ καρπὸς
1 πάθος: ς[. 1. 1. 1 n.
* of. Schol. ad Nic. Ther. 683 of a sensitive plant called
σκορπίουρος or ἰσχύουσα. ἀφαναινόμενα conj. Scal.; ἀφαυλινό-
μενα UMVP,Ald.
302
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. τ 11-1. 1
shoots and general form, but in the strange property !
which belongs to it. Its appearance is spinous and
the leaf is like ferns, but, when one touches the twigs,
they say that the leaves as it were wither up? and
collapse and then after a time come to life again and
flourish. Such are the most conspicuous things
peculiar to the country, to speak only of trees or
shrubs. For we will speak later of the things which
grow in the river and the marshes, when we come to
speak of the other water plants.
3 All the trees of this kind in that country are
large, both in height and stoutness ; thus at Memphis
there is said to be a tree of such girth that three
men cannot embrace it. ‘The wood too, when split,
is good, being of extremely close grain and in colour
like the nettle-tree.
Of the trees and shrubs special to Libya.
111. 4In Libya the Jotos is most abundant and
fairest; so also is the Christ’s thorn, and in some
parts, such as the Nasamonian district and near the
temple of Zeus Ammon, the date-palm. In the
Cyrenaica the cypress grows and the olives are fairest
and the oil most abundant. Most special of all to
this district is the silphium, and the land also bears
abundant fragrant saffron-crocus. As to the lotos—
the whole tree is peculiar, of good stature, as tall as
a pear-tree, or nearly so; the leaf is divided and like
that of the kermes-oak, and the wood is black. There
are several sorts, which differ in their fruits ; the fruit
3 This section is evidently out of place ; its probable place
is at the end of §10, so that the description will belong to
the ‘ Egyptian plum.’
* See Index, Plin. 13. 104-106,
3095
THEOPHRASTUS
ἡλίκος κύαμος, πεπαινεται δέ, ὥσπερ οἱ βότρυες,
μεταβάλλων τὰς χροιάς" φύεται. δέ, καθάπερ τὰ
μύρτα, παρ᾽ ἄλληλα πυκνὸς ἐπὶ τῶν βλαστῶν"
ἐσθιόμενος. δ᾽ ὁ ἐν τοῖς “Λωτοφάγοις καλουμένοις
γλυκὺς καὶ ἡδὺς καὶ ἀσινὴς καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τὴν
κοιλίαν ἀγαθός" ἡδίων δ᾽ ὁ ἀπύρηνος, ἔστι γὰρ
καὶ τοιοῦτόν τι γένος" ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ οἶνον ἐξ
αὐτοῦ.
Πολὺ δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ πολύκαρπον: τό γ᾽
οὖν ᾿Οφέλλου στρατόπεδον, ἡνίκα ἐβάδιζεν εἰς
Καρχηδόνα, καὶ τούτῳ φασὶ τραφῆναι πλείους
ἡμέρας ἐπιλιπόντων τῶν ἐπιτηδείων. ἔστι μὲν
οὖν καὶ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ Λωτοφαγιτίδι καλουμένῃ
πολύς: αὕτη δ᾽ ἐπίκειται καὶ ἀπέχει μικρόν' οὐ
μὴν οὐθέν γε μέρος ἀλλὰ πολλῷ πλεῖον ἐν τῇ
ἠπείρῳ' πλεῖστον γὰρ ὅλως ἐν τῇ Διβύῃ, καθάπερ
εἴρηται, τοῦτο καὶ ὁ παλίουρός ἐστιν: ἐν yap
Εὐεσπερίσι τούτοις καυσίμοις χρῶνται. διαφέρει
δὲ οὗτος ὁ λωτὸς τοῦ παρὰ τοῖς Λωτοφάγοις.
ὋὉ δὲ παλίουρος θαμνωδέστερος τοῦ λωτοῦ:
φύλλον δὲ παρόμοιον ἔχει τῷ ἐνταῦθα, τὸν δὲ
καρπὸν διάφορον' οὐ γὰρ πλατὺν ἀλλὰ στρογγύ-
λον καὶ ἐρυθρόν, μέγεθος δὲ ἡλίκον τῆς κέδρου ἢ
μικρῷ μεῖξον' πυρῆνα δὲ ἔχει οὐ συνεσθιόμενον
καθάπερ ταῖς ῥοαῖς" ἡδὺν δὲ τὸν καρπόν: καὶ ἐάν
τις οἶνον ἐπιχέη καὶ αὐτὸν ἡδίω γίνεσθαί φασι
καὶ τὸν οἶνον ἡδίω ποιεῖν.
1 of. Hdt. 4.177; Athen. 14. 651; Scyl. Peripl. Lotophagi.
2 A ruler of Cyrene, who invaded Carthaginian territory in
conjunction with Agathocles, B.c. 308.
3 τῇ λωτοφαγιτίδι conj. W.; τῇ Λωτοφαγίᾳ Φάριδι UMAId.
4 μέρος : μείων conj. Sch. (non minor G).
304
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. i. 1-3
is as large as a bean, and in ripening like grapes it
changes its colour: it grows, like myrtle-berries,
close together on the shoots ; to eat, that which grows
among the people called the Lotus-eaters! is sweet
pleasant and harmless, and even good for the stomach ;
but that which has no stone is pleasanter (for
there is also such a sort), and they also make wine
from it.
The tree is abundant and produces much fruit ;
thus the army of Ophellas,? when it was marching
on Carthage, was fed, they say, on this alone for
several days, when the provisions ran short. It is
abundant also in the island called the island of
the Lotus-eaters ;2 this lies off the mainland at
no great distance: it grows however in no less
quantity, but even more abundantly ° on the main-
land; for, as has been said,® this tree is common in
Libya generally as well as the Christ’s thorn; for in
the islands called Euesperides’ they use these trees
as fuel. However this /otos® differs from that found
in the land of the Lotus-eaters.
® The (Egyptian) ‘ Christ’s thorn’ is more shrubby
than the lotos; it has a leaf like the tree of the same
name of our country, but the fruit is different ; for
it is not flat, but round and red, and in size as large
as the fruit of the prickly cedar or a little larger;
it has a stone which is not eaten with the fruit, as in
the case of the pomegranate, but the fruit is sweet,
and, if one pours wine over it, they say that it
becomes sweeter and that it makes the wine sweeter.
5 πλεῖον U3 ? πλείων with MV.
67 i ea ef) ΕΓ στα: 191,
& of. Hdt. 2. 96.
¥ See Index. Plin. 13. 111.
399
4
THEOPHRASTUS
Ἔνιοι δὲ τὸ TOD λωτοῦ δένδρον θαμνῶδες εἶναι
\ / “ / \ > / \ \
Kal πολύκλαδον, TO στελέχει δὲ pe τὸν δὲ
καρπὸν μέγα τὸ κάρυον ἔχειν: τὸ δ᾽ ἐκτὸς οὐ
an bd \ / > / \
σαρκῶδες ἀλλὰ δερματωδέστερον' ἐσθιόμενον δὲ
οὐχ οὕτω γλυκὺν ὡς εὔστομον' καὶ τὸν οἶνον ὃν
Ε > a an > / b] > Ἃ Υ Aa
ἐξ αὐτοῦ ποιοῦσιν οὐ διαμένειν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ δύο ἢ
/
τρεῖς ἡμέρας εἶτ᾽ ὀξύνειν. ἡδίω μὲν οὖν τὸν
καρπὸν τὸν ἐν τοῖς Λωτοφάγοις, ξύλον δὲ
κάλλιον τὸ ἐν Κυρηναίᾳ: θερμοτέραν δὲ εἶναι
\ / \ Qn / lal 4 \
τὴν χώραν τὴν τῶν Λωτοφάγων: τοῦ ξύλου δὲ
τὴν ῥίζαν εἶναι μελαντέραν μὲν πολὺ πυκνὴν δὲ
ἧττον καὶ εἰς ἐλάττω χρησίμην: εἰς γὰρ τὰ
ἐγχειρίδια καὶ τὰ ἐπικολλήματα χρῆσθαι, τῷ
/ \ v \ 2 \ \ > yy /
ξύλῳ δὲ εἴς TE TOUS αὐλοὺς καὶ εἰς ἄλλα πλείω.
Ἔν δὲ τῇ μὴ ὑομένῃ τῆς Λιβύης ἄλλα τε πλείω
φύεσθαι καὶ φοίνικας μεγάλους καὶ καλούς: οὐ
μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὅπου μὲν φοῖνιξ ἁλμυρίδα τε εἶναι καὶ
ἔφυδρον τὸν τόπον, οὐκ ἐν πολλῷ δὲ βάθει ἀλλὰ
μάλιστα ἐπ᾽ ὀργυίαις τρισίν. τὸ δ᾽ ὕδωρ ἔνθα
\ \ / ” Ν [ Ν ,. "
μὲν γλυκὺ σφόδρα ἔνθα δὲ ἁλυκὸν πλησίον ὄντων
ἀλλήλοις" ὅπου δὲ τὰ ἄλλα φύεται. ξηρὸν καὶ
ἄνυδρον' ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ τὰ φρέατα εἶναι ἑκατὸν
ὀργυιῶν, ὥστε ὑποζυγίοις a ἀπὸ τροχηλιᾶς ἀνιμᾷν'
δι’ ὃ καὶ θαυμαστὸν πῶς ποτε ὠρύχθη τηλικαῦτα
\
βάθη: τὸ δ᾽ οὗν τῶν ὑδάτων τῶν ὑπὸ τοὺς
/ \ 3 Μ 3 \ Μ
φοίνικας καὶ ἐν "Αμμωνος εἶναι διαφορὰν ἔχον
τὴν εἰρημένην. φύεσθαι δὲ ἐν τῇ μὴ ὑομένῃ τὸ
΄ \ b eee » ΄ \ / /
θύμον πολὺ καὶ ἄλλα ἴδιά Te καὶ πλείω γίνεσθαι
1 Sch. after Scal. places this section before ὃ 3, making the
account of this tree consecutive. 2 Plin. 13. 17. 104-106.
3 εὔπαχες Cun}. Re Const.; εὐσταχές U; εὔσταχες MP,Ald.
‘ cf. Hdt. 2. 96.
306
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. πὶ. 4-5
1Some say that the lotos? is shrubby and much
branched, though it has a stout? stem; and that the
stone in the fruit is large, while the outside is not
fleshy but somewhat leathery ; and that to eat it is not
so much sweet as palatable; and that the wine which
they make out of it does not keep more than two
or three days, after which it gets sour; and so that
the fruit* found in the Lotus-eaters’ country is
sweeter, while the wood in the Cyrenaica is better ;
and that the country of the Lotus-eaters is hotter ;
and that the root is much blacker than the wood,
but of less close grain, and of use for fewer purposes ;
for they use it only for dagger-handles and tessellated
work,> while the wood is used for pipes and many
other things.
In the part of Libya where no rain falls they say
that, besides many other trees, there grow tall and
fine date-palms; however they add that, where the
date-palm is found, the soil® is salt and contains
water, and that at no great depth, not more than
three fathoms. They say also that the water is in
some places quite sweet, but in others quite close
by it is brackish ; that where however other things
grow, the soil is dry and waterless; and that in
places even the wells are a hundred fathoms deep,
so that they draw water by means of a windlass
worked by beasts. Wherefore it is wonderful how
at any time digging to such depths was carried out.
Such, they say, is the special character of the water
supply which feeds the date-palms in the district
also of the temple of Zeus Ammon. Further it is
said that in the land where no rain falls thyme? is
5 ἐπικολλήματα : lit. ‘pieces glued on’; ef. Plin. J.c.
6 cf. Hdt. 3. 183.
7 θύμον mBas.H.; θάμνον UMVAId. ef. 6. 2. 3.
THEOPHRASTUS
> fal \ -“ \ / \ \
ἐνταῦθα, καὶ πτῶκα Kal δορκάδα καὶ στρουθὸν
n ’ὔ Ν, an
καὶ ἕτερα τῶν θηρίων. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἄδηλον
> 2 / / \ \ \ ’
εἰ ἐκτοπίζει που πιόμενα: (διὰ γὰρ τὸ τάχος
/ /
δύναται μακράν te καὶ ταχὺ παραγενέσθαι),
» > > ς fa , /
ἄλλως Te Kel δι’ ἡμερῶν τινων πίνουσι, καθάπερ
Ad /
Kal τὰ ἥμερα Tapa τρίτην ἢ τετάρτην ποτίζεται
ταῦτα: τὸ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ζώων, οἷον ὄφεων
a n , Ν “ ,
σαυρῶν καὶ τῶν τοιούτων, φανερὸν ὅτι ἄποτα.
\ ’ / ¢ Ν ’ > / a
tous δὲ Λίβυας λέγειν ὅτι τὸν ὄνον ἐσθίει ταῦτα
a Ν 3.» OB Τῷ » / \ /
ὃς καὶ παρ ἡμῖν γίνεται, πολύπουν TE καὶ μέλαν
/ lal
συσπειρώμενον εἰς ἑαυτό; τοῦτον δὲ πολύν τε
/ \ Φ
γίνεσθαι σφόδρα καὶ ὑγρὸν τὴν φύσιν εἶναι.
, \ ᾽ὔ a
Δρόσον δὲ ἀεὶ πίπτειν ἐν TH μὴ ὑομένῃ πολλήν,
a Ὁ \ \ /
ὥστε δῆλον OTL τὸν μὲν φοίνικα Kal εἴ TL ἄλλο
/ > ᾽ / , > na an > Ἁ > /
φύεται ἐν ἀνύδροις TO TE ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀνιὸν ἐκτρέφει
Ἂν, , Ἂν ΄
καὶ πρὸς τούτῳ ἡ δρόσος. ἱκανὴ γὰρ ὡς κατὰ
/ \ \ ye > a \ = 3
μεγέθη καὶ τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν ξηρὰν οὖσαν καὶ ἐκ
“ \ / \ lal
τοιούτων συνεστηκυῖαν. Kal δένδρα μὲν ταῦτα
a 2 , \ \ a ,
πλεῖστα Kal ἰδιώτατα. περὶ δὲ τοῦ σιλφίου
, δ al \ /
λεκτέον ὕστερον ποῖόν TL τὴν φύσιν.
Δ / ᾽ A
IV. Ἂν δὲ τῇ ᾿Ασίᾳ παρ᾽ ἑκάστοις ide’ ἄττα
Ν \
τυγχάνει; τὰ μὲν yap φέρουσιν αἱ χῶραι τὰ δ᾽
1 Lepus Aegyptiacus. cf. Arist. H.A. 8. 28.
2 ὡς κατὰ conj. Seal. from G@; ὥστε τὰ Ald. H.
308
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. ir. στιν. 1
abundant, and that there are various other peculiar
plants there, and that there are found the hare!
gazelle ostrich and other animals. However it is
uncertain whether these do not migrate in order to
find drink somewhere, (for by reason of their fleet-
ness they are able to appear at a distant place in a
short space of time), especially if they can go for
several days without drinking, even as these animals,
when domesticated, are only given drink every third
or fourth day. While as to other animals, such as
snakes lizards and the like, it is plain that they go
without drink. And we are told that according to
the Libyans, these animals eat the wood-louse, which
is of the same kind that is found also in our
country, being black, with many feet, and rolling
itself into a ball ; this, they say, is extremely common
and is juicy by nature.
They say also that dew always falls abundantly
in the land in which no rain falls, so that it is plain
that the date-palin, as well as anything else which
grows in waterless places, is kept alive by the
moisture which rises from the ground, and also by
the dew. For the latter is sufficient, considering? the
size of such trees and their natural character, which
is dry and formed of dry components. And trees of
that character are most abundant in, and most
specially belong to such country. The character
of the silphium we must discuss later.
Of the trees and herbs special to Asia.
IV. In different parts of Asia also there are
special trees, for the soil of the various regions
produces some but not others. 3Thus they say that
? Plin. 16. 144,
399
THEOPHRASTUS
> ? \ A / ” “
οὐ φυουσιν" οἵον κιττὸν καὶ ἐλάαν ov φασιν εἰναι
τῆς ᾿Ασίας ἐν τοῖς ἄνω τῆς Συρίας ἀπὸ θαλάττης
, ’ ε al > 7 3 >? a a \
πένθ᾽ ἡμερῶν: arr ἐν ᾿ἸΙνδοῖς φανῆναι κιττὸν
ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Μηρῷ καλουμένῳ, ὅθεν δὴ καὶ τὸν
lal ἃ \
Διόνυσον εἶναι μυθολογοῦσι. δι᾽ ὃ καὶ ᾿Αλέξαν-
’
ὃρος ἀπ᾽ ἐξοδίας λέγεται ἀπιὼν ἐστεφανωμένος
κιττῷ εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ στρατιά: τῶν δὲ
ἄλλων ἐν Μηδίᾳ μόνον" περικλείειν γὰρ αὕτη
δοκεῖ καὶ συνάπτειν πως τῷ Ilovtw@. καίτοι γε
διεφιλοτιμήθη Αρπαλος ἐν τοῖς παραδείσοις τοῖς
περὶ Βαβυλῶνα φυτεύων πολλάκις καὶ πραγ-
ματευόμενος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐποίει πλέον: οὐ γὰρ
ἐδύνατο ζῆν ὥσπερ τἄλλα τὰ ἐκ τῆς “Ελλάδος.
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν οὐ δέχεται ἡ χώρα διὰ τὴν τοῦ
ἀέρος κρᾶσιν: ἀναγκαίως δὲ δέχεται καὶ πύξον
καὶ φίλυραν: καὶ γὰρ περὶ ταῦτα πονοῦσιν οἱ ἐν
τοῖς παραδείσοις. ἕτερα δὲ ἴδια φέρει καὶ δένδρα
καὶ ὑλήματα" καὶ ἔοικεν ὅλως 0 τόπος ὁ πρὸς
ἀνατολὰς καὶ μεσημβρίαν ὥσπερ καὶ ζῶα καὶ
φυτὰ φέρειν ἰδια παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους" οἷον 7 τε
Μηδία χώρα καὶ Περσὶς ἄλλα τε ἔχει πλείω καὶ
τὸ μῆλον τὸ Μηδικὸν ἢ τὸ Περσικὸν καλούμενον.
» \ \ / a / \ Ὁ \
ἔχει δὲ τὸ δένδρον τοῦτο φύλλον μὲν ὅμοιον καὶ
\ ” a al > / > / \ “
σχεδὸν ἴσον τῷ τῆς ἀνδράχλης, ἀκάνθας δὲ οἵας
ἄπιος ἢ ὀξυάκανθος, λείας δὲ καὶ ὀξείας σφόδρα
καὶ ἰσχυράς: τὸ δὲ μῆλον οὐκ ἐσθίεται μέν,
1 δλάαν conj. Spr.; ἐλάτην MSS. cf. Hdt. 1. 193; Xen.
Anab. 4. 4.13; Arr. Ind. 40.
2 κιττὸν conj. W., ef. Arr. Anab. 5.1.63 καὶ τὴν UMV;
καὶ τῷ Ald. H. 3 λέγεται add. W.
1 ἐξοδίας UMVP; ᾿ἸΙνδίας W. with Ald.
5 κιττῷ elvacconj. W.; εἶτα μεῖναι U; εἶτα μὴ εἶναι MVPAId.
310
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. ιν. 1-2
ivy and olive! do not grow in Asia in the parts of
Syria which are five days’ journey from the sea; but
that in India ivy? appears on the mountain called
Meros, whence, according to the tale, Dionysus
came. Wherefore it is 5814 5 that Alexander, when
he came back from an expedition, was crowned
with ivy,® himself and his army. But elsewhere in
Asia it is said to grow only in Media, for that country
seems in a way to surround and join on to the Euxine
Sea. However,’ when Harpalus took great pains
over and over again to plant it in the gardens of
Babylon, and made a special point of it, he failed:
since it could not live like the other things intro-
duced from Hellas. The country then does not ὃ
admit this plant on account of the climate, and it
grudgingly admits the box and the lime; for even
these give much trouble to those engaged in the
gardens. It also produces some peculiar trees and
shrubs. And in general the lands of the East and
South appear to have peculiar plants, as they have
peculiar animals ; for instance, Media and Persia have,
among many others, that which is called the
‘Median’ or ‘ Persian apple’ (citron).9 This tree 1°
has a leaf like to and almost identical with that of
the andrachne, but it has thorns like those of the
pear or white-thorn, which however are smooth
and very sharp and strong. The ‘apple’ is not
δ 7.e. and so Greek plants may be expected to grow there.
But the text is probably defective; cf. the citation of this
passage, Plut. Quaest. Conv. 3. 2. 1.
7 καίτοι ye. ‘This sentence does not connect properly with
the preceding. 8 οὐ add. Sch.
9 Plin. 12. 15 and 16; cited also Athen. 3. 26.
10 ef. Verg. G. 2. 131-135.
11 ἅπιος : ? here=axpds R. Const. cf. C.P. 1. 15. 2.
311
THEOPHRASTUS
εὔοσμον δὲ πάνυ καὶ τὸ φύλλον τοῦ δένδρου" κἂν
εἰς ἱμάτια τεθῇ τὸ μῆλον ἄκοπα διατηρεῖ. χρή-
σιμον δ᾽ ἐπειδὰν τύχη «τις» πεπωκὼς φάρμακον
«θανάσιμον: δοθὲν γὰρ ἐν οἴνῳ διακόπτει τὴν
κοιλίαν καὶ ἐξάγει τὸ φάρμακον"» καὶ πρὸς στό-
ματος εὐωδίαν" ἐὰν γάρ τις ἑψήσῃ ἐν ζωμῷ, ἢ ἐν
ἄλλῳ τινὶ τὸ ἔσωθεν τοῦ μήλου ἐκπιέσῃ εἰς τὸ
στόμα καὶ καταροφήσῃ, ποιεῖ τὴν ὀσμὴν ἡδεῖαν.
σπείρεται δὲ τοῦ ἦρος εἰς πρασιὰς ἐξαιρεθὲν τὸ
σπέρμα ,“διειργασμένας ἐπιμελῶς, εἶτα ἀρδεύεται
διὰ τετάρτης ἢ πέμπτης ἡμέρας: ὅταν δὲ ἁδρὸν
ἢ, διαφυτεύεται πάλιν τοῦ ἔαρος εἰς χωρίον μα-
λακὸν καὶ ἔφυδρον καὶ οὐ λίαν λεπτόν: φιλεῖ
γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα. Peper δὲ Ta μῆλα. πᾶσαν ὥραν'
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀφήρηται τὰ δὲ ἀνθεῖ τὰ δὲ ἐκπέττει.
τῶν δὲ ἀνθῶν ὃ ὅσα, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, ἔχει καθάπερ
ἠλακάτην ἐκ μέσου τιν᾽ ἐξέχουσαν, ταῦτά ἐστι
γόνιμα, ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἄγονα. σπείρεται δὲ καὶ εἰς
ὄστρακα διατετρημένα, καθάπερ καὶ οἱ φοίνικες.
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, περὶ τὴν Περσίδα
καὶ τὴν Μηδίαν ἐστίν.
Ἢ δὲ Ἰνδικὴ χώρα τήν τε καλουμένην ἔχει
ἡ χώρα τή μένην ἔχε
συκῆν, ἣ καθίησιν ἐκ τῶν κλάδων τὰς ῥίζας ἀν᾽
ἕκαστον ἔτος, ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον" ἀφίησι
δὲ οὐκ ἐκ τῶν νέων GAN ἐκ τῶν ἔνων καὶ ἔτι
παλαιοτέρων: αὗται δὲ συνάπτουσαι τῇ γῇ
ποιοῦσιν ὥσπερ δρύφακτον κύκλῳ περὶ τὸ δέν-
Spov, ὥστε γίνεσθαι καθάπερ σκηνήν, οὗ δὴ καὶ
1 ris add. W. from Athen. ἐ.ς.; θανάσιμον. . . φάρμακον
add. Sch. from Athen. J.c. 2° Pl 11: 7819. 10
3 ἁδρὸν ἢ W. from Athen. l.c., whence διαφυτεύεται W. etc.
for διαφυτεύηται Ald.H. ἁδρόν τι UMVAId.
312
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 2-4
eaten, but it is very fragrant, as also is the leaf of the
tree. And if the ‘apple’ is placed among clothes,
it keeps them from being moth-eaten. It is also
useful when one? has drunk deadly poison ; for being
given in wine it upsets the stomach and brings up the
poison ; also for producing sweetness of breath;?
for, if one boils the inner part of the ‘apple’ in a
sauce, or squeezes it into the mouth in some other
medium, and then inhales it, it makes the breath
sweet. The seed is taken from the fruit and sown
in spring in carefully tilled beds, and is then watered
every fourth or fifth day. And, when it is growing
vigorously,? it is transplanted, also in spring, to a
soft well-watered place, where the soil is not too
fine; for such places itloves. And it bearsits ‘apples’
at all seasons; for when some have been gathered,
the flower of others is on the tree and it is ripening
others. Of the flowers, as we have said,‘ those
which have, as it were, a distaff> projecting in the
middle are fertile, while those that have it not are
infertile. It is also sown, like date-palms, in pots ὃ
with a hole in them. This tree, as has been said,
grows in Persia and Media.
‘The Indian land has its so-called “ fig-tree’
(banyan), which drops its roots from its branches
every year, as has been said above®; and it drops
them, not from the new branches, but from those
of last year or even from older ones; these take
hold of the earth and make, as it were, a fence
about the tree, so that it becomes like a tent, in
41.13. 4. 5 i.e. the pistil.
6 Plin. 12. 16, fictilibus in vasis, dato per cavernas radicibus
spiramento : the object, as Plin. explains, was to export it
for medical use.
1 ΡΠ 12.22 and 23: SLs 3:
31:2
THEOPHRASTUS
εἰώθασι διατρίβειν. εἰσὶ δὲ αἱ ῥίξαι φυόμεναι
διάδηλοι πρὸς τοὺς βχαστούς: λευκότεραι γὰρ
καὶ δασεῖαι καὶ σκολιαὶ καὶ ἄφυλλοι. ἔχει δὲ
καὶ τὴν ἄνω κόμην πολλήν, καὶ τὸ ὅλον δένδρον
εὔκυκλον καὶ τῷ μεγέθει μέγα σφόδρα" καὶ γὰρ
ἐπὶ δύο στάδια ποιεῖν pace τὴν σκιάν' καὶ τὸ
πάχος τοῦ στελέχους ἔνια πλειόνων ἢ ἑξήκοντα
βημάτων, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ τετταράκοντα. τὸ δέ γε
φύλλον οὐκ ἔλαττον ἔχει πέλτης, καρπὸν δὲ
σφόδρα μικρὸν ἡλίκον ἐρέβινθον ὅ ὅμοιον δὲ σύκῳ"
δι᾿ ὃ καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ οἱ “Ἑλληνες συκῆν" ὀλίγον
δὲ θαυμαστῶς τὸν καρπὸν οὐχ ὅτι κατὰ τὸ τοῦ
δένδρου μέγεθος ἀχλὰ καὶ τὸ ὅλον. φύεται δὲ
καὶ τὸ δένδρον περὶ τὸν ᾿Ακεσίνην ποταμόν.
"Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἕτερον δένδρον καὶ τῷ μεγέθει
μέγα καὶ ἡδύκαρπον θαυμαστῶς καὶ μεγαλό-
καρπον" καὶ χρῶνται τροφῇ τῶν ᾿Ινδῶν οἱ σοφοὶ
καὶ μὴ ἀμπεχόμενοι.
“Ἕτερον δὲ οὗ τὸ φύλλον τὴν μὲν μορφὴν
πρόμηκες τοῖς τῶν στρουθῶν πτεροῖς ὅμοιον, ἃ
παρατίθενται παρὰ τὰ κράνη, μῆκος δὲ ὡς
διπηχυαῖον.
Ἄλλο τέ ἐστιν οὗ ὁ καρπὸς μακρὸς καὶ οὐκ
εὐθὺς ἀλλὰ σκολιὸς ἐσθιόμενος δὲ γλυκύς. οὗτος
ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ δηγμὸν ἐμποιεῖ καὶ δυσεντερίαν, δι᾿
ὃ ᾿Αλέξανδρος, ἀπεκήρυξε μὴ ἐσθίειν. ἔστι δὲ
καὶ ἕτερον οὗ ὁ καρπὸς ὅμοιος τοῖς κρανέοις.
1 οὗ conj. W.; αἷς UMVAId.
2 ἄφυλλοι conj. Dalec.; δίφυλλοι UVAId.; so also MH.,
omitting καὶ.
3 ἐξήκοντα. .. τετταράκοντα MSS.; €&.. τεττάρων conj.
Salm. ef. Plin. 7.6.5. Strabo 15. 1. 21,
314
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, LV... 4-5
which Ὁ men sometimes even live. The roots as they
grow are easily distinguished from the branches,
being whiter hairy crooked and _ leafiess.2 The
foliage above is also abundant, and the whole tree is
round and exceedingly large. ‘They say that it
extends its shade for as much as two furlongs; and
the thickness of the stem is in some instances more
than sixty? paces, while many specimens are as
much as forty? paces through. The leaf is quite as
large as a shield,* but the fruit is very small,° only as
large as a chick-pea, and it resembles a fig. And
this is why the Greeks © named this tree a " fig-tree.’
The fruit is curiously scanty, not only relatively to
the size of the tree, but absolutely. The tree also
grows near the river Akesines.!
There is also another tree® which is very large
and has wonderfully sweet and large fruit; it is
used for food by the sages of India who wear no
clothes.
There is another tree® whose leaf is oblong in
shape, like the feathers of the ostrich; this they
fasten on to their helmets, and it is about two cubits
long.
There is also another !° whose fruit is long and not
straight, but crooked, and it is sweet to the taste.
This causes griping in the stomach and dysentery ;
wherefore Alexander ordered that it should not be
eaten. There is also another}! whose fruit is like the
fruit of the cornelian cherry.
4 πέλτη : ἃ Small round shield. nel et ΣΦ ΤΣ:
δ 7,6. in Alexander’s expedition. 7 Chenab.
8 Jack-fruit. See Index App. (3). Plin. 12, 24,
‘ Banana. See Index App. (4).
10 Mango. See Index App. (5). Plin. 12. 24,
N Jujube. See Index App. (6).
51:
6
7
8
THEOPHRASTUS
/ a
Kai ἕτερα δὲ πλείω καὶ διαφέροντα τῶν ἐν
τοῖς “EXAnow ἀλλ’ ἀνώνυμα. θαυμαστὸν δ᾽
»O\ - » , \ / ee / /
οὐδὲν THs ἰδιότητος" σχεδὸν γάρ, ὥς γε δή τινές
φασιν, οὐθὲν ὅλως τῶν δένδρων οὐδὲ τῶν ὑλη-
μάτων οὐδὲ τῶν ποιωδῶν ὅμοιόν ἐστι τοῖς ἐν τῇ
Ἑλλάδι πλὴν ὀλίγων.
” \ \ (Soe / “ , 4 /
Idcov δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐβένη τῆς χώρας ταύτης" ταύτης
x / , Ν \ LA \ \ ἣν \
δὲ δύο γένη, TO μὲν evEVAOY Kal καλὸν TO δὲ
lal / \ \ \ δ, \ /
φαῦλον. σπάνιον δὲ τὸ καλὸν θάτερον δὲ πολύ.
\ \ / > / / \
τὴν δὲ χρόαν ov θησαυριζομένη λαμβάνει τὴν
7 ) » ᾽ \ a / ” \ \ /
εὔχρουν ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς TH φύσει. ἔστι δὲ τὸ δένδρον
lal ¢ .
θαμνῶδες, ὥσπερ ὁ κύτισος.
Φ Ν δ᾽ > \ / θ Μ᾽ δ᾽ “
ασὶ εἶναι καὶ τέρμινθον, οἱ ὅμοιον
/ ἃ Ν \ / \ \ a \
τερμίνθῳ, ὃ TO μὲν φύλλον καὶ TOUS κλῶνας καὶ
5 / “ yy a / \ \
τἄλλα πάντα ὅμοια ἔχει TH τερμίνθῳ τὸν δὲ
καρπὸν διάφορον: ὅμοιον γὰρ ταῖς ἀμυγδαλαῖς.
\
εἶναι yap καὶ ἐν Βάκτροις τὴν τέρμινθον ταύτην
\ / / ¢€ / > / \ \ ‘
Kal κάρυα φέρειν ἡλίκα ἀμύγδαλα διὰ τὸ μὴ
A \ /
μεγάλα: καὶ τῇ ὄψει δὲ παρόμοια, πλὴν TO
A ᾽ ;ῃ: “
κέλυφος οὐ τραχύ, τῇ δ᾽ εὐστομίᾳ καὶ ἡδονῇ
al ᾽ a
κρείττω τῶν ἀμυγδάλων. δι᾽ ὃ Kal χρῆσθαι τοὺς
ἐκεῖ μᾶλλον.
\ ΄ , fa \ \
"EE ὧν δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια ποιοῦσι TO μὲν φύλλον
»- / “-“
ὅμοιον ἔχει τῇ συκαμίνῳ, τὸ δὲ ὅλον φυτὸν τοῖς
/ δ / a
κυνορόδοις ὅμοιον. φυτεύουσι δὲ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις
v A / a
αὐτὸ Kat ὄρχους, δι’ ὃ Kal πόρρωθεν ἀφορῶσι
»Μ / 4 \ \ , Ν
ἄμπελοι φαίνονται. ἔχει δὲ καὶ φοίνικας ἔνια
1 Plin. 12. 25.
3 See Index. Plin. 12. 17-19.
3 Pistachio-nut. See Index App. (7). Plin. 12. 25. Nic.
Ther. 894.
316
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 5-8
There are also many more! which are different to
those found among the Hellenes, but they have no
names. There is nothing surprising in the fact that
these trees have so special a character; indeed, as
some say, there is hardly a single tree or shrub or
herbaceous plant, except quite a few, like those in
Hellas.
The ebony? is also peculiar to this country; of
this there are two kinds, one with good handsome
wood, the other inferior. The better sort is rare, but
the inferior one is common. It does not acquire its
good colour by being kept, but it is natural to it from
the first. The tree is bushy, like laburnum.
Some say that a ‘terebinth’* grows there also,
others that it is a tree like the terebinth; this in
leaf twigs and all other respects resembles that
tree, but the fruit is different, being like almonds.
In fact they say that this sort of terebinth grows also
in Bactria and bears nuts only as big as almonds,
inasmuch as they are not large for the size of the
tree *; and they closely resemble almonds in appear-
ance, except that the shell is not rough; and in
palatableness and sweetness they are superior to
almonds; wherefore the people of the country use
them in preference to almonds.
5The trees from which they make their clothes
have a leaf like the mulberry, but the whole tree
resembles the wild rose. They plant them in the
plains in rows, wherefore, when seen from a distance,
they look like vines. Some parts also have many
4 διὰ... péyada: Sch. omits these words, and W. con-
siders them corrupt; but G seems to have had them in his
text. The translation is tentative.
5 Cotton-plant. qf 4. 7. 7and8. Plin. 12. 25.
317
10
11
THEOPHRASTUS
μέρη πολλούς. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν δένδροι
φύσει.
Φέρει δὲ καὶ σπέρματα ἴδια, τὰ μὲν τοῖς
χεδροποῖς ὅμοια τὰ δὲ τοῖς “πυροῖς καὶ ταῖς
κριθαῖς. ἐρέβινθος μὲν γὰρ καὶ φακὸς καὶ τᾶλλα
τὰ Tap ἡμῖν οὐκ ἔστιν: ἕτερα δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥστε
παραπλήσια, ποιεῖν τὰ ἑψήματα καὶ μὴ δια-
γιγνώσκειν, ὥς φασιν, ἂν μή τίς ἀκούσῃ. κριθαὶ
δὲ καὶ πυροὶ καὶ ἄλλο τι γένος ἀγρίων κριθῶν,
ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἄρτοι ἡδεῖς καὶ χόνδρος καλός. ταύτας
οἱ ἵπποι ἐσθίοντες τὸ πρῶτον διεφθείροντο, κατὰ
μικρὸν δὲ οὖν ἐθισθέντες ἐν ἀχύροις οὐδὲν
i
ἔπασχον.
Μάλιστα δὲ σπείρουσι τὸ καλούμενον ὄρυξζον,
ἐξ οὗ τὸ ἕψημα. τοῦτο δὲ ὅμοιον τῇ ξειᾷ καὶ
περιπτισθὲν οἷον χόνδρος εὔπεπτον δέ, τὴν ὄψιν
πεφυκὸς ὅμοιον ταῖς αἴραις καὶ τὸν πολὺν χρόνον
ἐν ὕδατι, “ἀποχεῖται δὲ οὐκ εἰς στάχυν ἀλλ᾽ οἷον
φόβην, ὥσπερ, ὁ κέγχρος καὶ ὁ ἔλυμος. ἄλλο δὲ
ὃ ἐκάλουν οἱ “EdAnves φακόν' τοῦτο δὲ ὅμοιον
μὲν τῇ ὄψει καὶ τὸ βούκερας, θερίζεται δὲ περὶ
Πλειάδος δύσιν.
Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ αὕτη ἡ χώρα͵ τῷ τὴν μὲν
φέρειν ἔνια τὴν δὲ μὴ φέρειν" 7 γὰρ ὀρεινὴ καὶ
ἄμπελον ἔχει καὶ ἐλάαν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀκρόδρυα.
πλὴν ἄκαρπον τὴν ἐλάαν, καὶ σχεδὸν καὶ τὴν
φύσιν ὥσπερ μεταξὺ κοτίνου καὶ ἐλάας ἐστὶ καὶ
1 cf. 8. 4. 2. whence it appears that the original text here
contained a fuller account. Plin. 18. 71.
2 Sorghum halepense. 3 Se. of Alexander,
4 The verb seems to have dropped out (W.).
318
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 8-11
date-palms. So much for what come under the
heading of ‘ trees.’
These lands bear also peculiar grains, some like
those of leguminous plants, some like wheat and
barley. For the chick-pea lentil and other such
plants found in our country do not occur; but there
are others, so that they make similar mashes, and
one cannot, they say, tell the difference, unless one
has been told. They have however barley wheat!
and another kind of wild barley,? which makes sweet
bread and good porridge. When the horses? ate
this, at first it proved fatal to them, but by degrees
they became accustomed to it mixed with bran and
took no hurt.
But above all they sow the cereal called rice, of
which they make their mash. This is like rice-wheat,
and when bruised makes a sort of porridge, which is
easily digested ; in its appearance as it grows it is
like darnel, and for most of its time of growth it is4
in water; however it shoots® up not into an ear, but
as it were into a plume,® like the millet and Italian
millet. There was another plant’ which the Hel-
lenes® called lentil; this is like in appearance to
‘ox-horn’ (fenugreek), but it is reaped about the
setting of the Pleiad.
Moreover this country shews differences in that
part of it bears certain things which another part
does not; thus the mountain country has the vine
and olive and the other fruit-trees ; but the olive is
barren,® and in its character it is as it were almost
between a wild and a cultivated olive, and so it
5 ἀποχεῖται: cf. 8. 8. 1. 6 cf. 8: 3. 4.
7 Phaseolus Mungo; see Index App. (8).
8 7.e. of Alexander’s expedition. SOP hin 12.14,
319
12
13
THEOPHRASTUS
a
τῇ ὅλῃ μορφῇ: καὶ τὸ φύλλον τοῦ μὲν πλατύ-
τερον τοῦ δὲ στενότερον. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν κατὰ
τὴν Ἰνδικήν.
Ἔν δὲ τῇ Apia χώρᾳ καλουμένῃ ἄκανθά ἐ ἐστιν,
ἐφ᾽ ἧς γίνεται δάκρυον ὅμοιον τῇ σμύρνῃ καὶ τῇ
ὄψει καὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ: τοῦτο δὲ ὅταν ἐπιλάμψῃ ὁ
ἥλιος καταρρεῖ. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα παρὰ τὰ
ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ποταμοῖς
γίνεται. ἐν ἑτέροις δὲ τόποις ἐστὶν ἄκανθα λευκὴ
τρίοζος, ἐξ ἧς καὶ σκυτάλια καὶ βακτηρίας ποι-
οῦσιν" ὀπώδης δὲ καὶ μανή" ταύτην δὲ καλοῦσιν
Ἡρακλέους.
Ἄλλο δὲ ὕλημα μέγεθος μεν ἡλίκον ῥάφανος,
τὸ δὲ φύλλον ὅμοιον δάφνῃ καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ
τῇ μορφῇ. τοῦτο δ᾽ εἴ τι φάγοι ἐναποθνήσκει.
tL ὃ καὶ ὅπου ἵπποι τούτους ἐφύλαττον διὰ
χειρῶν.
Ἔν δὲ τῇ Γεδρωσίᾳ χώρᾳ πεφυκέναι φασὶν ἃ ἕν
μὲν ὅμοιον τῇ δάφνῃ φύλλον ἐ ἔχον, οὗ τὰ ὑποζύγια
καὶ ὁτιοῦν εἰ φάγοι μικρὸν ἐπισχόντα διεφθεί-
povto παραπλησίως διατιθέμενα καὶ σπώμενα
ὁμοίως τοῖς ἐπιλήπτοις.
“Ἕτερον δὲ ἄκανθάν τινα εἶναι" ταύτην δὲ
φύλλον μὲν οὐδὲν ἔχειν. πεφυκέναι δ᾽ ἐκ μιᾶς
ῥίζης" ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ δὲ τῶν ὄζων ἄκανθαν ἔχειν
ὀξεῖαν σφόδρα, καὶ τούτων δὲ καταγνυμένων ἢ
προστριβομένων ὀπὸν ἐκρεῖν πολύν, ὃς ἀποτυφλοῖ
1 καὶ σχεδὸν... μορφῇ conj. W.; σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τὴν φύσιν
ὥσπερ μετ. Kot. καὶ ἐλ. ἐστι δὲ τῇ ὅλῃ μορφῇ καὶ τὸ φ. Ald.; so
also U, omitting the first καί.
2 Balsamodendron Mukul; see Index App. (9). Plin. 12
33.
320
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 11-13
is also in its general appearance,! and the leaf is
broader than that of the one and narrower than that
of the other. So much for the Indian land.
In the country called Aria there is a ‘thorn’?
on which is found a gum resembling myrrh? in
appearance and smell, and this drops when the sun
shines on it. There are also many other plants
besides those of our land, both in the country and in
its rivers. In other parts there is a white ‘thorn’ #
which branches in three, of which they make batons
and sticks; its wood is sappy and of loose texture,
and they call it the thorn ‘ of Herakles.’
There is another shrub® as large as a cabbage,
whose leaf is like that of the bay in size and shape.
And if any animal should eat this, it is certain to die
of it. Wherefore, wherever there were horses,® they
kept them under control.
In Gedrosia they say that there grows one tree?
with a leaf like that of the bay, of which if the
beasts or anything else ate, they very shortly died
with the same convulsive symptoms as in epilepsy.
And they say that another tree 8 there is a sort of
‘thorn’ (spurge), and that this has no Jeaf and grows
from a single root ; and on each of its branches it has
a very sharp spine, and if these are broken or bruised
a quantity of juice flows out, which blinds animals or
3 σμύρνῃ conj. Sch. from 9. 1. 2; Plin. J.c.; τῇ ἰλλυρίᾳ Ald. H.
4 See Index.
5. Asafoetida ; see Index App. (10). Plin. 12. 33.
δ 7.e. in Alexander’s expedition. Probably a verb, such
as ὠσφραίνοντο, has dropped out after ἵπποι (Sch.). Odore
equos invitans Plin. l.c.
7 Nerium odorum ; see Index App. (11). ef. 4. 4. 13; Strabo
15.25 7 3,Phn. Je.
8 Plin. l.c.; Arrian, Anab. 6. 22. 7.
321
14
2
THEOPHRASTUS
Tara ζῶα πάντα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἴ
τις προσραΐνειεν αὐτοῖς. ἐν δὲ τόποις τισὶ πεφυ-
κέναι τινὰ βοτάνην, ὑφ᾽ ἡ συνεσπειρωμένους ὄφεις
εἶναι μικροὺς σφόδρα' τούτοις δ᾽ εἴ τις ἐμβὰς
πληγείη θνήσκειν. ἀποπνίγεσθαι δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ
τῶν φοινικων τῶν ὠμῶν εἴ τις φάγοι, καὶ τοῦτο
ὕστερον κατανοηθῆναι. τοιαῦται μὲν οὖν δυνά-
pers καὶ ζώων καὶ φυτῶν ἴσως καὶ παρ᾽ ἄλλοις
?
εἰσί.
Ilepittotepa δὲ τῶν φυομενων καὶ πλεῖστον
ἐξηλλαγμένα πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα τὰ εὔοσμα τὰ περὶ
᾿Αραβίαν καὶ Συρίαν καὶ ᾿Ινδούς, οἷον ὅ τε
λιβανωτὸς καὶ ἡ σμύρνα καὶ ἡ κασία καὶ τὸ
ὀποβάλσαμον καὶ τὸ κινάμωμον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα
τοιαῦτα: περὶ ὧν ἐν ἄλλοις εἴρηται διὰ πλειόνων.
ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς πρὸς ἕω τε καὶ μεσημβρίαν καὶ
ταῦτ᾽ ἴδια καὶ ἕτερα δὲ τούτων πλείω ἐστίν.
V. ἢν δὲ τοῖς πρὸς ἄρκτον οὐχ ὁμοίως" οὐθὲν
γὰρ ὅτι ἄξιον λόγου λέγεται παρὰ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν
δένδρων ἃ καὶ φιλόψυχρά τε τυγχάνει καὶ ἔστι
καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, οἷον πεύκη δρῦς ἐλάτη πύξος
διοσβάλανος φίλυρα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα:
σχεδὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἕτερον παρὰ ταῦτά ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ
τῶν ἄλλων ὑλημάτων ἔνια ἃ τοὺς ψυχροὺς
μᾶλλον ξητεῖ τόπους, καθάπερ, KEV ταύριον
ἀψίνθιον, ἐ ἔτι δὲ τὰ φαρμακώδη ταῖς ῥίζαις καὶ
τοῖς ὁποῖς, οἷον ἐλλέβορος ἐλατήριον σκαμμωνία,
σχεδὸν πάντα τὰ ῥιξζοτομούμενα.
Ta μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ καὶ τῇ Θράκῃ γίνεται,
1 τὰ ἀλλὰ δὲ : Pom, τὰ ; δὲ om. Sch,
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 13~-v. 2
even a man, if any drops of it should fall on him.
Also they say that in some parts grows a herb under
which very small snakes lie coiled up, and that, if
anyone treads on these and is bitten, he dies. They
also say that, if anyone should eat of unripe dates,
he chokes to death, and that this fact was not
discovered at first. Now it may be that animals and
plants have such properties elsewhere also.
Among the plants that grow in Arabia Syria and
India the aromatic plants are somewhat exceptional
and distinct from the plants of other lands; for
instance, frankincense myrrh cassia balsam of Mecca
cinnamon and all other such plants, about which we
have spoken at greater length elsewhere. So in
the parts towards the east and south there are these
special plants and many others besides.
Of the plants special to northern regions.
V. In the northern regions it is not so, for nothing
worthy of record is mentioned except the ordinary
trees which love the cold and are found also in our
country, as fir oak silver-fir box chestnut lime, as
well as other similar trees. There is hardly any
other! besides these; but of shrubs there are some
which for choice 2 seek cold regions, as centaury and
wormwood, and further those that have medicinal
properties in their roots and juices, such as hellebore
squirting cucumber scammony, and nearly all those
whose roots are gathered.
Some of these grow in Pontus and Thrace, some
21 have moved μᾶλλον, which in the MSS. comes before
τῶν ἄλλων.
* 4.e. which have medicinal uses,
323
THEOPHRASTUS
τὰ δὲ περὶ τὴν Οἴτην καὶ τὸν Παρνασὸν καὶ τὸ
Πήλιον καὶ τὴν Ὄσσαν καὶ τὸ Τελέθριον' καὶ ἐν
τούτοις δέ τινές φασι πλεῖστον: πολλὰ δὲ καὶ
ἐν τῇ ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ: φαρμακώδεις
γὰρ καὶ αὗται. τῶν δὲ εὐωδῶν οὐδὲν ἐ ἐν ταύταις,
πλὴν (pes ἐν τῇ ᾿λλυρίδι καὶ περὶ τὸν ᾿Αδρίαν'
ταύτῃ γὰρ χρηστὴ καὶ πολὺ διαφέρουσα τῶν
ἄλλων: ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἀλεεινοῖς καὶ τοῖς πρὸς
μεσημβρίαν ὥσπερ ἀντικείμενα τὰ εὐώδη. ἔχουσι
δὲ καὶ κυπάριττον οἱ ἀλεεινοὶ μᾶλλον, ὥσπερ
Κρήτη Λυκία “Ῥόδος, κέδρον δὲ καὶ τὰ Opaxia
ὄρη καὶ τὰ Φρύγια.
Τῶν δὲ ἡμερουμένων ἥκιστά φασιν ἐν τοῖς
ψυχροῖς ὑπομένειν δάφνην καὶ μυρρίνην, καὶ
τούτων δὲ ἧττον ἔτι τὴν μυρρίνην' σημεῖον δὲ
λέγουσιν OTL ἐν τῷ ᾿Ολύμπῳ δάφνη μὲν πολλή,
μύρρινος δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔστιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ Πόντῳ
περὶ Παντικάπαιον οὐδ᾽ ἕτερον καίπερ σπουδα-
ζόντων καὶ πάντα μηχανωμένων πρὸς τὰς ἱερο-
σύνας: συκαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ καὶ εὐμεγέθεις καὶ
ῥοιαὶ δὲ περισκεπαζόμεναι' ἄπιοι δὲ καὶ μηλέαι
πλεῖσται καὶ παντοδαπώταται καὶ χρησταί:
αὗται & ἐαριναὶ πλὴν εἰ ἄρα ὄψιαι' τῆς δὲ
ἀγρίας ὕλης ἐστὶ δρῦς πτελέα μελία καὶ ὅσα
τοιαῦτα: πεύκη δὲ καὶ ἐλάτη καὶ πίτυς οὐκ ἔστι:
οὐδὲ ὅλως οὐδὲν ἔνδᾳδον'" ὑγρὰ δὲ αὕτη καὶ
χείρων πολὺ τῆς Σινωπικῆς, ὥστ᾽ οὐδὲ πολὺ
χρῶνται αὐτῇ πλὴν πρὸς τὰ ὑπαίθρια. ταῦτα
1 Τελέθριον conj. Sch. (in Euboea), cf. 9. 15. 43; Πελέθριο»
UMVP;; παρθένιον Ald.G.
2 Whose rhizome was used for perfumes ; ef. 1. 7.2; de
odor. 22, 23. 28. 32; Dykes, 7'he Genus Iris, Ὁ. 237, gives an
interesting account of the modern uses of ‘ orris-root.’
324
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 2-3
about Oeta Parnassus Pelion Ossa and Telethrion,}
and in these parts some say that there is great abund-
ance; so also is there in Arcadia and Laconia, for
these districts too produce medicinal plants. But of
the aromatic plants none grows in these lands, except
the iris? in Illyria on the shores of the Adriatic; for
here it is excellent and far superior to that which
grows elsewhere ; but in hot places and those which
face the south the fragrant plants grow, as if by con-
trast to the medicinal plants. And the warm places
have also the cypress in greater abundance; for in-
stance, Crete Lycia Rhodes, while the prickly cedar
grows in the Thracian and the Phrygian mountains.
Of cultivated plants they say that those least
able to thrive in cold regions are the bay and
myrtle, especially the myrtle, and they give for
proof ?that on Mount Olympus the bay is abundant,
but the myrtle does not occur at all. In Pontus
about Panticapaeum neither grows, though they are
anxious to grow them and take special pains‘ to do
so for religious purposes. But there are many well
grown fig-trees and pomegranates, which are given
shelter; pears and apples are abundant in a great
variety of forms and are excellent. These are spring-
fruiting trees, except that they may fruit later here
than elsewhere. Of wild trees there are oak elm
manna-ash and the like (while there is no fir silver-
fir nor Aleppo pine, nor indeed any resinous tree).
But the wood of such trees® in this country is damp
and much inferior to that of Sinope, so that they do
not much use it except for outdoor purposes. § These
2 Phin. 10: 197
4 Plin., /.c., says that Mithridates made this attempt.
5 se. oak, etc.
2295
5
6
THEOPHRASTUS
μὲν οὖν περὶ tov Πόντον ἢ ἔν τισί γε τόποις
αὐτοῦ.
Ἔν δὲ τῇ Προποντίδι γίνεται καὶ μύρρινος καὶ
δάφνη πολλαχοῦ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν. ἴσως δ᾽ ἔνια
καὶ τῶν τόπων ἴδια θετέον" ἕκαστοι γὰρ ἔχουσι
τὰ διαφέροντα, ὥ ὥσπερ εἴρηται, κατὰ τὰς ὕλας οὐ
μόνον τῷ βελτίω καὶ χείρω τὴν «αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἀλλὰ
καὶ τῷ φέρειν ἢ μὴ φέρειν' οἷον ὁ μὲν Τμῶλος
ἔχει καὶ ὁ Μύσιος Ὄλυμπος πολὺ τὸ κάρυον
καὶ τὴν διοσβάλανον, ἐ ἔτι δὲ ἄμπελον καὶ μηλέαν
καὶ ῥόαν' ἡ δὲ Ἴδη τὰ μὲν οὐκ ἔχει, τούτων τὰ
δὲ σπάνια: περὶ δὲ Μακεδονίαν καὶ τὸν Teepucov
Ὄλυμπον τὰ μὲν ἔστι τὰ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι τούτων' ἐν
δὲ τῇ Εὐβοίᾳ καὶ περὶ τὴν Μαγνησίαν τὰ μὲν
Εὐβοϊκὰ πολλὰ τῶν δὲ ἄχλων οὐθέν: οὐδὲ δὴ περὶ
τὸ ΤΠέλιον οὐδὲ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ἐνταῦθα ¢ ὄρη.
Βραχὺς δ᾽ ἐστὶ τόπος ὃς ἔχει καὶ ὅλως τὴν
ναυπηγήσιμον ὕλην" τῆς μὲν γὰρ ὐρώπης δοκεῖ
τὰ περὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν καὶ ὅσα τῆς Θρᾷκης καὶ
περὶ ᾿Ιταλίαν’ τῆς δὲ ᾿Ασίας τά τε ἐν Κιλικίᾳ
καὶ τὰ ἐν Σινώπῃ καὶ ᾿Αμίσῳ, ἐ ἔτι δὲ ὁ Μύσιος
᾿Ογυσσος καὶ ἢ Ἴδη πλὴν οὐ πολλήν' ἡ γὰρ
Συρία κέδρον ἔχει καὶ ταύτῃ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς
τριήρεις.
᾿Αλλὰ καὶ τὰ φίλυδρα καὶ τὰ παραποτάμια
ταῦθ᾽ ὁμοίως" ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ ᾿Αδρίᾳ πλάτανον οὔ
φασιν εἶναι πλὴν περὶ τὸ Διομήδους ἱερόν"
σπανίαν δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἱταλίᾳ πάσῃ" καίτοι πολλοὶ
καὶ μεγάλοι ποταμοὶ παρ᾽ ἀμφοῖν: ἀλλ᾽’ οὐκ
1 See Index.
2 καὶ ὅσα: text probably defective, but sense clear. 7 καὶ
ὅσα THs Θ. ἔχει καὶ Ta περὶ Ἰ1.
226
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 3-6
are the trees of Pontus, or at least of certain districts
of that country.
In the land of Propontis myrtle and bay are
found in many places on the mountains. Perhaps
however some trees should be put down as special
to particular places. For each district, as has been
said, has different trees, differing not only in that the
same trees occur but of variable quality, but also as
to producing or not producing some particular tree.
For instance, Tmolus and the Mysian Olympus have
the hazel and chestnut! in abundance, and also the
vine apple and pomegranate; while Mount Ida has
some of these not at all and others only in small
quantity ; and in Macedonia and on the Pierian
Olympus some of these occur, but not others; and
in Euboea and Magnesia the sweet chestnut ! is com-
mon, but none of the others is found; nor yet on
Pelion or the other mountains of that region.
Again it is only a narrow extent of country which
produces wood fit for shipbuilding at all, namely in
Europe the Macedonian region, and certain parts?
of Thrace and Italy; in Asia Cilicia Sinope and
Amisus, and also the Mysian Olympus, and Mount
Ida; but in these parts it is not abundant. For Syria
has Syrian cedar, and they use this for their galleys.
The like is true of trees which love water and
the riverside; in the Adriatic region they say that
the plane is not found, except near the Shrine of
Diomedes,? and that it is scarce throughout Italy ¢;
yet there are many large rivers in both countries,
in spite of which the localities do not seem to
3 On one of the islands of Diomedes, off the coast of
Apulia; now called Isole di Tremiti. ef. Plin. 12. 6.
ONG Patera) π᾿
327
THEOPHRASTUS
v ͵ e , a4 1€ , Anew ,
ἔοικε φέρειν ὁ τόπος" ἐν Ῥηγίῳ γοῦν ἃς Διονύσιος
/ e / > / > a
πρεσβύτερος ὁ τύραννος ἐφύτευσεν ἐν τῷ παρα-
/ [24 ’ lal » “ , -“
δείσῳ, αἵ εἰσι νῦν ἐν τῷ γυμνασίῳ, φιλοτιμηθεῖσαι
> 4 - /
ov δεδύνηνται λαβεῖν μέγεθος.
» Ν / f
Eviot δὲ πλείστην ἔχουσι πλάτανον, οἱ δὲ
bape aay « \ /, “ «
πτελέαν καὶ ἐἰτέαν, οἱ δὲ μυρίκην, ὥσπερ ὁ Αἷμος.
\ a / lal
ὥστε τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη, TOV τόπων
/ ¢ / a r
ἴδια θετέον ὁμοίως ἔν τε τοῖς ἀγρίοις Kal τοῖς
ς / >’ \ > \ / ᾽ bal yy \ A
ἡμέροις. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τάχ ἂν εἴη καὶ τούτων
, Ψ / /
ἐπί τινων ὥστε διακοσμηθέντων δύνασθαι τὴν
΄ / A \ lal a Ἐν Ψ δε
χώραν φέρειν, ὃ καὶ νῦν ξυμβαῖνον ὁρῶμεν καὶ
ἐπὶ ζώων ἐνίων καὶ φυτῶν.
/ \ \ n “
VI. Μεγίστην δὲ διαφορὰν αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως
“ / \ ψ La) nr e / ig
τῶν δένδρων Kal ἁπλῶς TOV ὑλημάτων ὑπολη-
\ 4 4 \ \
πτέον ἣν καὶ πρότερον εἴπομεν, OTL TA μὲν ἔγγαια
τὰ δ᾽ ἔνυδρα τυγχάνει, καθάπερ τῶν ζώων, καὶ τῶν
al lal δ \ nw
φυτῶν" οὐ μόνον ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι καὶ ταῖς λίμναις
\ a a \ > \ \ » a /
Kal τοῖς ποταμοῖς yap ἀλλὰ Kal ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ
/ ἈΠ ΔΕ / »Μ ” OO) \ /
φύεται καὶ ὑλήματα ἔνια ἔν TE TH ἔξω καὶ δένδρα"
a \ a \ Ν ,
ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ περὶ ἡμᾶς μικρὰ πάντα τὰ φυόμενα,
καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπερέχον ὡς εἰπεῖν τῆς θαλάττης" ἐν
\ A \
ἐκείνῃ δὲ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα Kal ὑπερέχοντα, Kal
oe δὲ / δέ ὃ
ἕτερα δὲ μείζω δένδρα.
\ \ Le Apia Se > / ,
Ta μὲν οὖν περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐστι τάδε' φανερώτατα
, la) / n
μὲν καὶ κοινότατα πᾶσιν τὸ τε φῦκος Kal τὸ
fj Ν ὦ ΝΜ r , \ \
βρύον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα' φανερώτατα δὲ καὶ
1 φιλοτιμηθεῖσαι conj. St.; φιλοτιμηθεὶς MSS.; Plin. 12. 7.
2 βαλάττης conj. Seal. from G ; ἐλάτης Ald.H.
328
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 6-v1. 2
produce this tree. At any rate those which King
Dionysius the Elder planted at Rhegium in the park,
and which are now in the grounds of the wrestling
school and are thought much of,! have not been able
to attain any size.
Some of these regions however have the plane
in abundance, and others the elm and willow, others
the tamarisk, such as the district of Mount Haemus.
Wherefore such trees we must, as was said, take to
be peculiar to their districts, whether they are wild
or cultivated. However it might well be that the
country should be able to produce some of these
trees, if they were carefully cultivated: this we do
in fact find to be the case with some plants, as with
some animals.
Of the aquatic plants of the Mediterranean.
VI. However the greatest difference in the natural
character itself of trees and of tree-like plants gener-
ally we must take to be that mentioned already,
namely, that of plants, as of animals, some belong
to the earth, some to water. Not only in swamps,
lakes and rivers, but even in the sea there are some
tree-like growths, and in the ocean there are even
trees. In our own sea all the things that grow are
small, and hardly any of them rise above the sur-
face2; but in the ocean we find the same kinds
rising above the surface, and also other larger
trees.
Those found in our own waters are as follows:
most conspicuous of those which are of general
occurrence are seaweed 5 oyster-green and the like ;
most obvious of those peculiar to certain parts are the
5 Phin. 13. 135.
329
THEOPHRASTUS
> , x \ 4
ἰδιώτατα κατὰ TOUS τόπους ἐλάτη συκῆ δρῦς
ἄμπελος φοῖνιξ. τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν πρόσγεια
τὰ δὲ πόντια τὰ δ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν τόπων κοινά.
\ \ \ a ΄ \ a \ \
Kal τὰ μὲν πολυειδῆ, καθάπερ TO φῦκος, τὰ δὲ
/ a \ ͵
μίαν ἰδέαν ἔχοντα. τοῦ γὰρ φύκους τὸ μέν. ἐστι
πλατύφυλλον TALVLOELOES χρῶμα ποῶδες ἔχον,
ὃ δὴ καὶ πράσον καλοῦσί τινες, οἱ δὲ ζωστῆρα:
ῥίζαν δὲ ἔχει δασεῖαν ἔξωθεν ἔνδοθεν δὲ λεπυριώδη,
\ a n a
sai δὲ ἐπιεικῶς Kal εὐπαχῆ παρομοίαν τοῖς
κρομνυογητείοις.
Ν ᾿
Τὸ δὲ τριχύόφυλλον, ὥσπερ τὸ μάραθον, οὐ
a > ” \ »Μ \
ποῶδες adr’ ἔξωχρον οὐδὲ ἔχον καυλὸν ἀλλ᾽
» / c a / n rn
ὀρθὸν πως ἐν αὑτῷ: φύεται δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῶν
> lal / “ /
ὀστράκων Kal τῶν λίθων, οὐχ ὥσπερ θάτερον
Ν fal a / \
πρὸς τῇ γῇ πρόσγεια δ᾽ ἄμφω, καὶ τὸ μὲν
\ > an fel lal / No
τριχύφυλλον πρὸς AUTH TH γῆ, πολλάκις δὲ ὥσπερ
/ \ “, /
ἐπικλύζεται μόνον ὑπὸ τῆς θαλάττης, θάτερον δὲ
ἀνωτέρω.
, a lal ς
Γίνεται δὲ ἐν μὲν τῇ ἔξω τῇ περὶ Ἡρακλέους
\ / “
στήλας θαυμαστόν τι τὸ μέγεθος, ὥς φασι, καὶ τὸ
πλάτος “μεῖζον ὡς παλαιστιαῖον. φέρεται δὲ
τοῦτο εἰς τὴν ἔσω θάλατταν ἅμα τῷ ῥῷ τῷ
ἔξωθεν καὶ καλοῦσιν αὐτὸ πράσον' ἐν ταύτῃ δ᾽
ἔν τίσι τόποις ὥστ᾽ ἐπάνω τοῦ ὀμφαλοῦ. λέγεται
N / a
δὲ ἐπέτειον εἶναι καὶ φύεσθαι μὲν τοῦ ἦρος
λήγοντος, ἀκμάζειν δὲ τοῦ θέρους, τοῦ μετοπώρου
Ν , \ \ Ν “Ὁ > / \
δὲ φθίνειν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν χειμῶνα ἀπόλλυσθαι Kal
> ’ “ \ \ 9 Ἂν /
ἐκπίπτειν. ἅπαντα δὲ καὶ TaAAA τὰ φυόμενα
/ / / lal a
χείρω Kal ἀμαυρότερα γίνεσθαι τοῦ χειμῶνος.
1 See Index : συκῆ, δρῦς, ete.
2 ταινιοειδὲς conj. Dalec. ; τετανοειδὲς UP,Ald.H.; τὰ τενο-
εἰδὲς MY. 3 cf. Diose. 4. 99; Plin. 136.
339
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vi. 2-4
sea-plants called ‘fir’ ‘fig’ ‘oak’ ‘vine’ ‘palm.’!
Of these some are found close to land, others
in the deep sea, others equally in both positions.
And some have many forms, as seaweed, some but
one. Thus of seaweed there is the broad-leaved
kind, riband-like? and green in colour, which some
call ‘green-weed’ and others “ girdle-weed.’ This
has a root which on the outside is shaggy, but the
inner part is made of several coats, and it is fairly
long and stout, like kromyogeteton (a kind of onion).
3 Another kind has hair-like leaves like fennel,
and is not green but pale yellow; nor has it a stalk,
but it is, as it were, erect in itself; this grows on
oyster-shells and stones, not, like the other, attached
to the bottom; but both are plants of the shore,
and the hair-leaved kind grows close to land, and
sometimes is merely washed over by the sea*; while
the other is found further out.
Again in the ocean about the pillars of Heracles
there is a kind® of marvellous size, they say, which
is larger, about a palmsbreadth.6 This is carried into
the inner sea along with the current from the outer
sea, and they call it ‘sea-leek’ (riband-weed) ;
and in this sea in some parts it grows higher than
a man’s waist. It is said to be annual and to come
up at the end of spring, and to be at its best in
summer, and to wither in autumn, while in winter it
perishes and is thrown up on shore. Also, they say,
all the other plants of the sea become weaker and
feebler in winter. These then are, one may say, the
4 7.e. grows above low water mark.
5 See Index : φῦκος (2).
6 7.e. the ‘leaf’: the comparison is doubtless with τὸ
πλατὺ, §2; ὡς UMVAId.; ἢ W. after Sch.’s conj.
33!
THEOPHRASTUS
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οἷον πρόσγεια περί γε τὴν
θάλατταν. τὸ δὲ πόντιον φῦκος ὃ οἱ σπογγιεῖς
ἀνακολυμβῶσι πελάγιον.
Καὶ ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ φύεται πρὸς τῇ γῇ ἐπὶ τῶν
πετρῶν πλεῖστον καὶ κάλλιστον ᾧ βάπτουσιν οὐ
μόνον τὰς ταινίας ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔρια καὶ ἱμάτια": καὶ
ἕως ἂν 7 πρόσφατος ἡ βαφή, πολὺ καλλίων ἡ
χρόα τῆς πορφύρας" γίνεται δ᾽ ἐν τῇ προσβόρρῳ
καὶ πλεῖον καὶ κάλλιον, ὥσπερ αἱ σπογγιαὶ καὶ
ἄλλα τοιαῦτα.
"AdXo δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὅμοιον τῇ ἀγρώστει: καὶ γὰρ τὸ
μοιον τῇ ἀγρ γὰρ
φύλλον παραπλήσιον ἔχει καὶ τὴν ῥίζαν γονα-
τώδη καὶ μακρὰν καὶ πεφυκυῖαν πλαγίαν, ὥσπερ
ἡ τῆς ἀγρώστιδος" ἔχει δὲ καὶ καυλὸν καλαμώδη,
καθάπερ ἡ ἄγρωστις" μεγέθει δὲ ἔλαττον πολὺ
τοῦ φύκους.
"Addo δὲ τὸ βρύον, ὃ φύλλον μὲν ἔχει ποῶδες
τῇ χρόᾳ, πλατὺ δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἀνόμοιον. ταῖς θριδα-
κίναις, πλὴν ῥυτιδωδέστερον καὶ ὥσπερ συν-
εσπασμένον. καυλὸν δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ μιᾶς
ἀρχῆς πλείω τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ πάλιν ἀπ᾽ ἄλλης:
φύεται δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν λίθων τὰ τοιαῦτα πρὸς τῇ γῇ
καὶ τῶν ὀστράκων. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐλάττω σχεδὸν
ΜΠ, |
ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν.
Ἢ δὲ δρῦς καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη παράγειοι μὲν ἄμφω"
φύονται δ᾽ ἐπὶ λίθοις καὶ ὀστράκοις ῥίξας μὲν οὐκ
ἔχουσαι, προσπεφυκυῖαι δὲ ὥσπερ αἱ λεπάδες.
ἀμφότεραι μὲν οἷον σαρκόφυλλα' προμηκέστερον
δὲ τὸ φύλλον πολὺ καὶ παχύτερον τῆς ἐλάτης
1 Plin. 13. 136, cf. 32. 22; Diosc. 4. 99.
2 litmus; see Index, φῦκος (δ).
% Plin. Lc. ; grass-wrack, see Index, φῦκος (6).
395
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. νι. 4-7
sea-plants which are found near the shore. But the
‘seaweed of ocean, which is dived for by the
sponge-fishers, belongs to the open sea.
1In Crete there is an abundant and luxuriant
growth? on the rocks close to land, with which they
dye not only their ribbons, but also wool and
clothes. And, as long as the dye is fresh, the
colour is far more beautiful than the purple dye ;
it occurs on the north coast in greater abundance
and fairer, as do the sponges and other such things.
3There is another kind like dog’s-tooth grass ;
the leaf is very like, the root is jointed and long,
and grows out sideways, like that of that plant; it
has also a reedy stalk like the same plant, and in
size itis much smaller than ordinary seaweed.
4 Another kind is the oyster-green, which has a
leaf green in colour, but broad and not unlike
lettuce leaves; but it is more wrinkled ® and as it
were crumpled. It has no stalk, but from a single
starting-point grow many of the kind, and again
from another starting-point. These things grow on
stones close to land and on oyster-shells. These
are about all the smaller kinds.
6 The ‘sea-oak’ and ‘sea-fir’ both belong to the
shore ; they grow on stones and oyster-shells, having
no roots, but being attached to them like limpets.’
Both have more or less fleshy leaves; but the leaf
of the ‘fir’ grows much longer and stouter, and is 8
4 Plin. 13. 137; 27. 56; βρύον conj. Scal. from G and Plin.
l.c.; βότρυον UAld.H.
5 ῥυτιδωδέστερον conj. Scal. from G and Plin. l.c.3 χρυσιωδέ-
στερον Ald.; ῥυσιωδέστερον mBas.
S* Phin: 7:0: 7 rewddes Ald.; λοπάδες W. with UMV.
8 προμηκέστερον .. . πέφυκε καὶ con]. W.; προμ. δὲ τὸ φύλλον
παχὺ καὶ παχύτερον τῆς ἐλάτης: πολὺ δὲ καὶ Ald,
333
@
THEOPHRASTUS
πέφυκε καὶ οὐκ ἀνόμοιον τοῖς τῶν ὀσπρίων λοβοῖς,
κοῖλον δ᾽ ἔνδοθεν καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχον ἐν αὐτοῖς" τὸ δὲ
τῆς δρυὸς λεπτὸν καὶ μυρικωδέστερον' χρῶμα δ᾽
ἐπιπόρφυρον ἀμφοῖν. ἡ δὲ ὅλη μορφὴ τῆς μὲν
ἐλάτης ὀρθὴ καὶ αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, τῆς δὲ
δρυὸς σκολιωτέρα καὶ μᾶλλον ἔχουσα πλάτος"
γίνεται δὲ ἄμφω καὶ πολύκαυλα καὶ <povoKavAa,>
μονοκαυλότερον. δὲ ἡ ἐλάτη" τὰς δὲ ἀκρεμονικὰς
ἀποφύσεις ἡ μὲν ἐλάτη μακρὰς ἔχει καὶ εὐθείας
καὶ μανάς, ἡ δὲ δρῦς Bpaxutepas Kal σκολιωτέρας
καὶ πυκνοτέρας. τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον μέγεθος ἀμφοτέρων
ὡς πυγωνιαῖον ἢ μικρὸν ὑπεραῖρον, μεῖζον δὲ ὡς
ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν τὸ THS ἐλάτης. χρήσιμον δὲ ἡ 2 δρῦς
εἰς βαφὴν ἐρίων ταῖς γυναιξίν. ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν
ἀκρεμόνων προσηρτημένα τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων
ζώων ἔνια: καὶ κάτω δὲ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ καυλῴ
περιπεφυκότων τινῶν Υ ᾿ὅχῳ, ἐν τούτοις δεδυκότες
ὀνίννοι τε καὶ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον πολύποδι.
'αῦτα μὲν οὖν ᾿ πρόσγεια καὶ ῥάδια θεωρηθῆναι"
φασὶ δέ τίνες καὶ ἄλλην δρῦν εἶναι ποντίαν ἣ καὶ
καρπὸν φέρει, καὶ ἡ βάλανος αὐτῆς χρησίμη:
τοὺς δὲ σκινθοὺς καὶ κολυμβητὰς λέγειν ὅτι καὶ
ἕτεραι μεγάλαι τινὲς τοῖς μεγέθεσιν εἴησαν.
Ἣ δὲ ἄμπελος ἀμφοτέρωσε γίνεται: καὶ γὰρ
πρὸς τῇ γῇ καὶ ποντία' μείζω δ᾽ ἔχει καὶ τὰ
φύλλα καὶ τὰ κλήματα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ἡ
ποντία.
Ἢ δὲ συκῆ ἄφυλλος μὲν τῷ δὲ μεγέθει οὐ
μεγάλη, χρῶμα δὲ τοῦ φλοιοῦ φοινικοῦν.
1 αὐτοῖς Ald.H.; αὑτῷ conj. W.
21 have inserted μονόκανλα.
334
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. νι. 7—9
not unlike the pods of pulses, but is hollow inside
and contains nothing in the ‘pods.’! ‘That of the
‘oak’ is slender and more like the tamarisk ; the
colour of both is purplish. The whole shape of the
‘fir’ is erect, both as to the stem and the branches,
but that of the ‘oak’ is less straight and the plant is
broader. Poth are found both with many stems and
with one,” but the ‘fir’ is more apt to have a single
stem. The branchlike outgrowths in the ‘fir’ are
long straight and spreading, while in the ‘ oak’ they
are shorter less straight and closer. The whole size
of either is about a cubit or rather more, but in
general that of the ‘fir’ is the longer. The ‘ oak’
is useful to women for dyeing wool. To the branches
are attached certain creatures with shells, and below
they are also found attached to the stem itself, which
in some cases they completely cover ;3 and among
these are found millepedes and other such creatures,
including the one which resembles a cuttlefish.
These plants occur close to land and are easy to
observe ; but some report 4 that there is another ‘sea
oak’ which even bears fruit and has a useful ‘acorn,’
and that the sponge fishers® and divers told them
that there were other large kinds.
6 The ‘sea-vine’ grows under both conditions, both
close to land and in the deep sea; but the deep sea
form has larger leaves branches and fruit.
7 The ‘sea-fig’ is leafless and not of large size, and
the colour of the bark is red.
3 τινῶν γ᾽ ὅλῳ conj. W.; τινῶν ὅλων Ald.; τινῶν ye ὅλων U;
text uncertain: the next clause has no connecting particle.
* Phas 13) 197:
5 σκίνθους, a vox nihili: perhaps conceals a proper name,
€.g. Σικελικοὺς ; σπογγεῖς conj. St.
ὁ Phins.43.. 198, 5 Pim le
335
10
THEOPHRASTUS
¢ ἂν 2 \ , ,
Ο δὲ φοῖνίξ ἐστι ιν πόντιον βραχυστέλεχες
\ / \ a ’ Lal € » fa lal
δὲ σφόδρα, καὶ σχεδὸν εὐθεῖαι αἱ ἐκφύσεις τῶν
Ce \ / 3 / a if
ῥάβδων: καὶ κάτωθεν ov κύκλῳ αὗται, καθάπερ
fal es dee / ’ ᾽ e \ > £
τῶν ῥάβδων αἱ ἀκρεμόνες, ἀλλ᾽ ὡσὰν ἐν πλάτει
, a ’ a \ \ >
κατὰ μίαν συνεχεῖς, ὀλιγαχοῦ δὲ Kal ἀπαλ-
΄ n \ Ce A lal > /
λάττουσαι. τῶν δὲ ῥάβδων ἢ τῶν ἀποφύσεων
e 3 / \ ς 4 al val
τούτων ὁμοία τρόπον τινὰ ἡ φύσις τοῖς τῶν
> lal / “ Ψ ἴω e /
ἀκανθῶν φύλλοις τῶν ἀκανικῶν, οἷον σόγκοις
a / \ 5 \ «“
καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις, πλὴν ὀρθαὶ καὶ οὐχ, ὥσπερ
an \ \ / /
ἐκεῖνα, περικεκλασμεναι Kal TO φύλλον ἔχουσαι
, ς \ an “ > \ ‘ >
διαβεβρωμένον ὑπὸ τῆς ἅλμης: ἐπεὶ TO γε δι
“ a \ , Ν Nicc1@7 oo v
ὅλου ἥκειν TOV μέσον γε καυλὸν καὶ ἡ ἄλλη ὄψις
/ A Ἁ a \ / “
παραπλησία. τὸ δὲ χρῶμα καὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν
a rn “ / / /
καυλῶν Kal ὅλου τοῦ φυτοῦ ἐξέρυθρόν τε σφόδρα
καὶ φοινικοῦν.
Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐν τῇδε τῇ θαλάττῃ τοσαῦτά ἐστιν.
\ 5 « ΄
ἡ γὰρ σπογγιὰ καὶ αἱ ἀπλυσίαι καλούμεναι καὶ
fal / ,
εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἑτέραν ἔχει φύσιν.
n a © /
VII. Εν δὲ τῇ ἔξω τῇ περὶ “Hpakdéovs στήλας
/ “ ” ΄
TO τε πράσον, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, φύεται καὶ τὰ
> ΄ n Ὁ ~ \ \ a
ἀπολιθούμενα ταῦτα, οἷον θῦμα καὶ τὰ δαφνοειδῆ
\ yy, a \ > nm / ᾽ a
Kal Ta ἄλλα. τῆς δὲ ἐρυθρᾶς καλουμένης ἐν TH
᾽ ΄ \ 2) /, / 2 \ a a
ApaBia μικρὸν ἐπάνω Κόπτου ἐν μὲν τῇ γῇ
1 κάτωθεν. ., ἀπαλλάττουσαι probably beyond certain re-
storation: I have added καὶ before κάτωθεν (from G), altered
κυκλωθὲν to κύκλῳ, put a stop before καὶ κάτωθεν, and restored
ἀπαλλάττουσαι (Ald.H.). Δ cf. 0: 4. Ss Geis. oe
3 περικεκλασμένα, 1.6. towards the ground. cf. Diosc. 3.
68 and 69, where Plin. (27. 13) renders (φύλλα) ὑποπερικλᾶται
ad terram infracta,
336
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. νι. r0o—-vu. 1
The ‘sea-palm’ is a deep-sea plant, but with a
very short stem, and the branches which spring from
it are almost straight; and these under water are
not set all round the stem, like the twigs which grow
from the branches, but extend, as it were, quite
flat in one direction, and are uniform; though
occasionally they are irregular. The character of
these branches or outgrowths to some extent re-
sembles the leaves of thistle-like spinous plants,
such as the sow-thistles? and the like, except that
they are straight and not bent over? like these,
and have their leaves eaten away by the brine; in
the fact that the central stalk 4 at least runs through
the whole, they resemble these, and so does the
general appearance. The colour both of the branches
and of the stalks and of the plant as a whole is a
deep red or scarlet.
Such are the plants found in this sea. For sponges
and what are called aplysiat® and such-like growths
are of a different character.
OF the aquatic plants of the ‘outer sea’ (i.e. Atlantic, Persian
Gulf, etc.).
VII. In the outer sea near the pillars of Heracles
grows the ‘sea-leek, as has been said®; also the
well known? plants which turn to stone, as thyma,
the plants like the bay and others. And in the
sea called the Red Sea® a little above Coptos®
4 3,6. midrib.
5 Some kind of sponge. ἀπλυσίαι conj. R. Const.; πλύσιαι
UAld.; πλυσίαι M ; πλουσίαι V. 6 4 6. 4.
1 ταῦτα: ὉΠ Ids 90 1851]:
8. Plin. 13. 139.
9 Κόπτου conj. Scal.; κόπον MV; κόλπου UAld.; Capto G
and Plin. l.c.
337
to
LITEOPPR AS. US
΄ ᾽ \ / \ rn ’ ~
δένδρον οὐδὲν φύεται πλὴν τῆς ἀκάνθης τῆς
CAN / / \ \ er \ x
διψάδος καλουμέν))ς" σπανία δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ διὰ Ta
καύματα καὶ τὴν ἀνυδρίαν" οὐχ ὕει γὰρ ἀλλ᾽
δι᾿ ἐτῶν τεττίρων ἢ πέντε καὶ τότε λάβρως καὶ
ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγον χρόνον".
diy x “ / A a \
» δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ φύεται, καλοῦσι δ᾽ αὐτὰ
Cc 7 \' 2 i “» (ὧν e Ni hs ΄ ¢ /
oui καὶ ἐλααν. ἐστι CE ἡ μὲν ὀαφνὴ ομοία
τῇ ἀρίᾳ ἢ δὲ ἐλάα <TH ELUA> τῷ φύλλῳ: καρπον
ε EXE! ᾿ ἐλάα παραπλήσιον ταῖς ἐλάαις" ἀφίησι
δὲ καὶ δάκρυον, ἐξ οὗ οἱ ἰατροὶ φάρμακον ἔναιμον
= 74 «Ὁ Τ 10 ’ θό of δὲ
συντιθεασιν ὃ γίνεται σφὸ pa ἀγαθον. ὅταν oe
ὕδατα πλείω γένηται, μύκητες φύονται πρὸς τῇ
θαλάττῃ κατά τινα τόποι', οὗτοι δὲ ἀπολιθοῦνται
ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου. ἡ δὲ θάλαττα θηριώδης" πλεί-
\ vv 3 / ef \ 3
στους δὲ ἔχει τοὺς καρχαρίας, ὥστε μὴ εἶναι
κολυμβῆσαι.
᾿ \ ω Ὗ la ΄ «. , «
Ky δὲ τῷ κόλπῳ τῷ καλουμένῳ ‘Hpwor, ἐφ᾽ ὃν
,ὔ ‘ cas ee s ἐφ᾿ \ ,
καταβαίνουσιν οἱ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, φύεται μὲν δάφνη
Ν > / \ aes ᾽ \ ta ’ \
τε Kal ἐλάα Kal θυμον, ov μὴν χλωρὰ γε UAXrAa
a \ Ὁ V4 an er \
λιθοειδῆ τὰ ὑπερέχοντα τῆς θαλάττης, ὅμοια δὲ
\ a ΄ v a a a a
καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις καὶ τοῖς βλαστοῖς τοῖς χλωροῖς.
’ \ fal / \ \ “ , col Ὁ
ἐν δὲ τῷ θύμῳ καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἄνθους χρῶμα διάδηλοι"
Φ \ ΄, ta ΄, “-
ὡσὰν μήπω τελέως ἐξηνθηκός. μήκη δὲ τῶν
,ὕ “ > -
δενδρυφίων ὅσοι εἰς τρεῖς ἀρ
- oe ν᾽ γ᾽ > a
Οἱ δέ, ὅτε ἀνάπλους ἣν τῶν Ἐξ ᾿Ινδῶν ἀποστα-
{ \ x ΄
λέντων ὑπὸ Αλεξάνδρου, τὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ
φυύμενα, μέχρι οὗ μὲν ἂν ὃ ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ, χρῶμά
᾽ ᾽
φασιν ἔχειν ὅμοιον τοῖς φυκίοις, ὁπύταν δ᾽ ἐξ-
Mcf. Strabo 10. 1.1.7: 2 See Index.
3 The name of a tree seems to have dropped out: I have
inserted τῇ ἐλάᾳ: cf. ταῖς ἐλάαις below. LBretzl sugrests ἰδέᾳ
for aula,
330
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vu. 1-3
in Arabia there grows on the land no tree except
that called the ‘thirsty’ acacia, and even this is
scarce by reason of the heat and the lack of water ;
for it never rains except at intervals of four or five
years, and then the rain comes down heavily and is
soon over.
1But there are plants in the sea, which they call
‘bay’ and ‘olive’ (white mangrove’). In foliage
the ‘bay’ is like the arta (holm-oak), the ‘olive’
like the real olive.? The latter has a fruit like olives,
and it also discharges a gum,‘ from which the
physicians # compound a drug® for stanching blood,
which is extremely effective. And when there is
more rain than usual, mushrooms grow in a certain
place close to the sea, which are turned to stone by
the sun. The sea is full of beasts, and produces
sharks® in great numbers, so that diving is
impossible.
In the gulf called ‘the Gulf of the Heroes,’?
to which the Egyptians go down, there grow a ‘ bay,’
an ‘olive, and a ‘thyme’; these however are not
green, but like stones so far as they project above
the sea, but in leaves and shoots they are like their
green namesakes. In the ‘ thyme’ the colour of the
flower is also conspicuous, looking as though the
flower had not yet completely developed. These
treelike growths are about three cubits in height.
8 Now some, referring to the occasion when there
was an expedition of those returning from India sent
out by Alexander, report that the plants which grow in
the sea, so long as they are kept damp, have a colour
4 cf. Diose. 1. 105 and 106.
eof. Athen4. Say ἘΠ ΠῚ 1: 77:
© Plin 13. 139: 7 of. 9. 4. 4. 5] 15.140:
339
THEOPHRASTUS
ενεχθέντα τεθῇ “πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον, ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ
ἐξομοιοῦσθαι. τῷ ἁλί. φύεσθαι δὲ καὶ σχοίνους
λιθίνους παρ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν θάλατταν, ods οὐδεὶς ἂν
διαγνοίη τῇ ὄψει πρὸς τοὺς ἀληθινούς. θαυμα-
σιώτερον δέ TL TOUTOU λέγουσι" φύεσθαι γὰρ
δενδρύφι᾽ ἄττα τὸ μὲν χρῶμα ἔχοντα ὅμοιον
κέρατι βοὸς τοῖς δὲ ὄζοις τραχέα. καὶ ἀπ᾽ ἄκρου
πυρρά' ταῦτα δὲ θραύεσθαι μὲν εἰ συγκλῴη τις"
ἐκ δὲ τούτων πυρὶ ἐμβαλλόμενα, καθάπερ τὸν
σίδηρον, διάπυρα γινόμενα πάλιν ὅταν ἀποψύ-
χοιτο καθίστασθαι καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν χρόαν λαμ-
βάνειν.
Ἔν δὲ ταῖς νήσοις ταῖς ὑπὸ τῆς πλημμυρίδος
καταλαμβανομέναις δένδρα μεγάλα πεφυκέναι
ἡλίκαι πλάτανοι καὶ αἴγειροι αἱ μέγισται: συμ-
βαίνειν δέ, ὅθ᾽ ἡ πλημμυρὶς ἐπέλθοι, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα
κατακρύπτεσθαι ὅλα, τῶν δὲ μεγίστων ὑπερέχειν
τοὺς κλάδους, ἐξ ὧν τὰ πρυμνησία ἀνάπτειν, εἶθ᾽
ὅτε πάλιν ἄμπωτις γίνοιτο ἐκ τῶν ῥιζῶν. ἔχειν
δὲ τὸ δένδρον φύλλον μὲν ὅμοιον τῇ δάφνῃ, ἄνθος
δὲ τοῖς ἴοις καὶ TO χρώματι καὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ, καρπὸν
δὲ ἡλίκον ἐλάα καὶ τοῦτον εὐώδη σφόδρα: καὶ τὰ
μὲν φύλλα οὐκ ἀποβάλλειν, τὸ δὲ ἄνθος καὶ τὸν
καρπὸν ἅμα τῷ φθινοπώρῳ γίνεσθαι, τοῦ δὲ ἔαρος
ἀπορρεῖν.
Ἄλλα δ᾽ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ θαλάττῃ πεφυκέναι, ἀεί-
φυλλα μὲν τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ὅμοιον ἔχειν τοῖς
θέρμοις.
Περὶ δὲ τὴν Περσίδα τὴν κατὰ τὴν Καρμανίαν,
καθ᾽ ὃ ἡ πλημμυρὶς γίνεται, δένδρα ἐ ἐστὶν εὐμεγέθη
ὅμοια τῇ ἀνδράχλῃ καὶ τῇ μορφῇ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις"
καρπὸν δὲ ἔχει πολὺν ὅμοιον τῷ χρώματι ταῖς
340
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vu. 3-5
like sea-weeds, but that when they are taken out and
put in the sun, they shortly become like salt. They
also say that rushes of stone grow close to the sea,
which none could distinguish at sight from real
rushes. They also report a more marvellous thing
than this ; they say that there are certain tree-like
growths which in colour resemble an ox-horn, but
whose branches are rough, and red at the tip ; these
break if they are doubled up, and some of then, if
they are cast on a fire, become red-hot like iron,
but recover when they cool and assume their original
colour.
1 On the islands which get covered by the tide they
say that great trees? grow, as big as planes or the
tallest poplars, and that it came to pass that, when
the tide? came up, while the other things were
entirely buried, the branches of the biggest trees
projected and they fastened the stern cables to them,
and then, when the tide ebbed again, fastened them
to the roots. And that the tree has a leaf like that
of the bay, and a flower like gilliflowers in colour and
smell, and a fruit the size of that of the olive, which
is also very fragrant. And that it does not shed its
leaves, and that the flower and the fruit form to-
gether in autumn and are shed in spring.
4 Also they say there are plants which actually
grow in the sea, which are evergreen and havea fruit
like lupins.
°In Persia in the Carmanian district, where the tide
is felt, there are trees® of fair size like the andrachne
in shape and in leaves; and they bear much fruit like
1 Plin, 18. 141.
2 Mangroves. See Index App. (12).
5. cf. Arr. Anab. 6. 22. 6.
4"Plin, te. Index App: (13). eS Plines 12.031.
6 White mangroves. Index App. (14). 341
THEOPHRASTUS
ἀμυγδάλαις ἔξωθεν, τὸ δ᾽ ἐντὸς συνελίιττεται
καθάπερ συνηρτημένον πᾶσιν. ὑποβέβρωται δὲ
\
ταῦτα τὰ δένδρα πάντα κατὰ μέσον ὑπὸ τῆς
θαλάττης καὶ ἕστηκεν ὑπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν, ὥσπερ
πολύπους. ὅταν γὰρ ἡ ἄμπωτις γένηται θεωρεῖν
ο « “ /
ἐστιν. ὕδωρ δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν TO τόπῳ" KATA-
5 τὸ ἂν ,
λείπονται δέ τινες διώρυχες Su ὧν διαπλέουσιν'
Φ ᾽ τ / e \ A ” /
αὗται δ᾽ εἰσὶ θαλάττης" ᾧ Kal δῆλον οἴονταί τινες
« / n Ὁ
ὅτι τρέφονται ταύτῃ Kal οὐ τῷ ὕδατι, πλὴν εἴ τι
ταῖς ῥίζαις ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἕλκουσιν. εὔλογον δὲ καὶ
ay ¢ \ = \ \ +>Q\ \ /
τοῦθ᾽ ἁλμυρὸν εἶναι" Kal yap οὐδὲ κατὰ βάθους
x ¢ « / an τὶ
αἱ ῥίζαι. τὸ δὲ ὅλον ἕν τὸ γένος εἶναι τῶν T ἐν
a a a A \ a
τῇ θαλάττῃ φυομένων καὶ τῶν ἐν TH YH ὑπὸ τῆς
/ \
πλημμυρίδος καταλαμβανομένων: καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐν
ἂν \ , , \ ,
τῇ θαλάττῃ μικρὰ καὶ φυκώδη φαινόμενα, τὰ ὃ
ἐν τῇ γῆ μεγάλα καὶ χλωρὰ καὶ ἄνθος εὔοδμον
ἔχοντα, καρπὸν δὲ οἷον θέρμος.
Ἔν Τύλῳ δὲ τῇ νήσῳ, κεῖται δ᾽ αὕτη ἐν τῷ
᾿Αραβίῳ κόλπῳ, τὰ μὲν πρὸς ἕω τοσοῦτο πλῆθος
“ / / CFF ᾽ ’ «ς \
εἶναί φασι δένδρων ὅτ᾽ ἐκβαίνει ἡ πλημμυρὶς
ὥστ᾽ ἀπωχυρῶσθαι. πάντα δὲ ταῦτα μεγέθη μὲν
», € / a \ \ » ς / a
ἔχειν ἡλίκα συκῆ, TO δὲ ἄνθος ὑπερβάλλον τῇ
εὐωδίᾳ, καρπὸν δὲ ἄβρωτον ὅμοιον τῇ ὄψει τῷ
θέρμῳ. φέρειν δὲ τὴν νῆσον καὶ τὰ δένδρα τὰ
ἐριοφόρα πολλά. ταῦτα δὲ φύλλον μὲν ἔχειν
παρόμοιον τῇ ἀμπέλῳ πλὴν “μικρόν, καρπὸν δὲ
οὐδένα φέρειν: ἐν ᾧ δὲ τὸ ἔριον. ἡλίκον μῆλον
’
ἐαρινὸν συμμεμυκός: ὅταν δὲ ὡραῖον ἦ, ἐκπετάν-
1 Plin. dc. Sicco litore radicibus nudis polyporum modo
complexae steriles arenas aspectantur: he appears to have
had a fuller text.
342
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vi. 5-7
in colour to almonds on the outside, but the inside
is coiled up as though the kernels were all united.
1 These trees are all eaten away up to the middle by
the sea and are held up by their roots, so that they
look like a cuttle-fish. For one may see this at
ebb-tide. And there is no rain at all in the district,
but certain channels are left, along which they sail,
and which are part of the sea. Which, some think,
makes it plain that the trees derive nourishment from
the sea and not from fresh water, except what they
draw up with their roots from the land. And it is
reasonable to suppose that this too is brackish; for
the roots do not run to any depth. In general they
say that the trees which grow in the sea and those
which grow on the land and are overtaken by the
tide are of the same kind, and that those which grow
in the sea are small and look like seaweed, while
those that grow? on land are large and green and
have a fragrant flower and a fruit like a lupin.
In the island of Tylos,? which is situated in the
Arabian gulf,t they say that on the east side there is
such a number of trees when the tide goes out that
they make a regular fence. All these are in size
as large as a fig-tree, the flower is exceedingly
fragrant, and the fruit, which is not edible, is like in
appearance to the lupin. They say that the island
also produces the ‘ wool-bearing’ tree (cotton-plant)
in abundance. This has a leaf like that of the vine,
but small, and bears no fruit ; but the vessel in which
the ‘ wool ’ is contained is as large as a spring apple,
2 φυκώδη φαινόμενα τὰ δ᾽ ἐν conj. W.; dur. ou. δ᾽ ἐν MVAId.;
U has φερόμενα ().
3 cf. 5. 4. 6 ; Plin. 12. 38 and 39 ; modern name Bahrein.
452,6. Persian Gulf.
343
THEOPHRASTUS
νυσθαι καὶ ἐξείρειν τὸ ἔριον, ἐξ οὗ τὰς σινδόνας
ὑφαίνουσι, τὰς μὲν εὐτελεῖς τὰς δὲ πολυτελε-
στάτας.
Γίνεται δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ᾿Ινδοῖς, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη,
καὶ ἐν ᾿Αραβίᾳ. εἶναι δὲ ἄλλα δένδρα τὸ ἄνθος
ἔχοντα ὅμοιον τῷ λευκοΐῳ, πλὴν ἄοδμον καὶ τῷ
μεγέθει τετραπλάσιον τῶν ἴων. καὶ ἕτερον δέ τι
δένδρον πολύφυλλον ὥσπερ τὸ ῥόδον: τοῦτο δὲ
τὴν μὲν νύκτα συμμύειν ἅμα δὲ τῷ ἡλίῳ ἀνιόντι
διοίγνυσθαι, μεσημβρίας δὲ τελέως διεπτύχθαι,
πάλιν δὲ τῆς δείλης συνάγεσθαι κατὰ μικρὸν καὶ
τὴν νύκτα συμμύειν: λέγειν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐγχω-
ρίους ὅτι καθεύδει. γίνεσθαι δὲ καὶ φοίνικας ἐν
τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ἀμπέλους καὶ τἄλλα ἀκρόδρυα καὶ
συκᾶς οὐ φυλλορροούσας. ὕδωρ δὲ οὐράνιον γίνε-
σθαι μέν, οὐ μὴν χρῆσθαί γε πρὸς τοὺς καρπούς"
ἀλλ᾽ εἶναι κρήνας ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πολλάς, ἀφ᾽ ὧν
πάντα βρέχειν, ὃ ὃ καὶ συμφέρειν μᾶλλον τῷ σίτῳ
καὶ τοῖς δένδρεσιν. δι’ ὃ καὶ ὅταν ὕσῃ τοῦτο ἐπ-
αφιέν αι καθαπερεὶ καταπλύνοντας ἐκεῖνο. καὶ
τὰ μὲν ἐν τῇ ἔξω θαλάττῃ δένδρα Ta ye νῦν
τεθεωρημένα σχεδὸν τοσαῦτά ἐστιν.
VIII. Ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ποταμοῖς καὶ τοῖς
ἕλεσι καὶ ταῖς λίμναις μετὰ ταῦτα λεκτέον. τρία
δέ ἐστιν εἴδη τῶν ἐν τούτοις, τὰ μὲν δένδρα τὰ δ᾽
1 ἐξείρειν conj. W.; ἐξειαίρειν P,; ἐξαίρειν Ald. 24.5, 8.
5. Txmarind, See Index App. (15). Plin. 12. 40.
4 πλὴν ἄοδμον conj. H. Steph.; ; πλείονα ὄδμον UMAId.
5. τῷ μεγέθει καὶ 1 conj.; καὶ τῷ μεγέθει UMVP; καὶ om. Ald.
6 Tamarind also. See Index App. (16). 7 7.e. leaflets.
8 Ficus laccifera. See Index App. (17). οὐ φυλλορροούσας
conj. W., ef. G and Plin, l.c.; at φυλλορροοῦσιν Ald. H.
344
ENQUIRY INFO°.PLANTS, IV. vi. 7=vut. 1
and closed, but when it is ripe, it unfolds and puts
forth! the ‘ wool,’ of which they weave their fabrics,
some of which are cheap and some very expensive.
This tree is also found, as was said,? in India
as well as in Arabia. They say that there are other
trees® with a flower like the gilliflower, but scent-
less and in size® four times as large as that flower.
And that there is another tree® with many leaves‘
like the rose, and that this closes at night, but opens
at sunrise, and by noon is completely unfolded ; and
at evening again it closes by degrees and remains
shut at night, and the natives say that it goes to
sleep. Also that there are date-palms on the island
and vines and other fruit-trees, including evergreen ὃ
figs. Also that there is water from heaven, but
that they do not use it for the fruits, but that there
are many springs on the island, from which they
water everything, and that this is more beneficial 9
to the corn and the trees. Wherefore, even when it
rains, they let this water over the fields,!° as though
they were washing away the rain water. Such
are the trees as so far observed which grow in the
outer sea.
Of the plants of rivers, marshes, and lakes, especially in Egypt.
VIII. Next we must speak of plants which live in
rivers marshes and lakes. Of these there are three
classes, trees, plants of ‘ herbaceous’ !! character, and
9 ὃ καὶ συμφέρειν conj. Sch.; ἃ καὶ συμφέρει Ald.; U has
συμφέρειν.
10 cf. C.P. 2. 5. 5, where Androsthenes, one of Alexander’s
admirals, is given as the authority for this statement.
11 The term τὰ ποιώδη seems to be given here a narrower
connotation than usual, in order that τὰ λοχμώδη may be
distinguished.
345
ceo
THEOPHRASTUS
ὥσπερ ποιώδη τὰ δὲ λοχμώδη. λέγω δὲ ποιώδη
μὲν οἷον τὸ σέλινον τὸ ἕλειον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοι-
αῦτα: λοχμώδη δὲ κάλαμον κύπειρον φλεὼ σχοῖ-
νον βούτομον, ἅπερ σχεδὸν κοινὰ πάντων τῶν
ποταμῶν καὶ τῶν τοιούτων τόπων.
᾿Ενιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ βάτοι καὶ παλίουροι καὶ τὰ
ἄλλα δένδρα, καθάπερ ἰ ἰτέα λεύκη πλάτανος. τὰ
μὲν οὖν μέχρι τοῦ κατακρύπτεσθαι, τὰ δὲ ὥστε
μικρὸν ὑπερέχειν, τῶν δὲ αἱ μὲν ῥίξαι καὶ μικρὸν
τοῦ στεέλέχους ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο σῶμα πᾶν
ἔξω. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐτέᾳ καὶ κλήθρᾳ καὶ πλατάνῳ
καὶ φιλύρᾳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς φιλύδροις συμβαίνει.
“Σχεδὸν 88 καὶ ταῦτα κοινὰ πάντων τῶν ποτα-
μῶν ἐστιν: ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ πέφυκεν' οὐ
μὴν πολλή γε ἡ πλάτανος, ἀλλὰ σπανιωτέρα ἔτι
ταύτης ἡ λεύκη, πλείστη δὲ μελία καὶ βουμέλιος.
τῶν γοῦν ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ φυομένων τὸ μὲν ὅλον
πολὺ πλῆθός ἐστιν πρὸς τὸ ἀριθμήσασθαι καθ᾽
ἕκαστον" οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὥς γε ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα
ἐδώδιμα καὶ χυλοὺς ἔχοντα γλυκεῖς. διαφέρειν
δὲ δοκεῖ τῇ γλυκύτητι καὶ τῷ τρόφιμα μάλιστα
εἶναι τρία ταῦτα, ὅ τε πάπυρος καὶ τὸ καλού-
μενον σάρι καὶ τρίτον ὃ μνάσιον καλοῦσι.
Φύεται δὲ ὁ ὁ πάπυρος οὐκ ἐν βάθει τοῦ ὕδατος
ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον ἐν δύο πήχεσιν, ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ ἐν
ἐλάττονι. πάχος μὲν οὖν τῆς ῥίξης ἡλίκον καρ-
πὸς χειρὸς ἀνδρὸς εὐρώστου, μῆκος δὲ ὑπὲρ τε-
τράπηχυ' φύεται δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς γῆς αὐτῆς, πλαγίας
pias εἰς τὸν πηλὸν καθιεῖσα λεπτὰς καὶ πυκνάς,
ἄνω δὲ τοὺς παπύρους καλουμένους τριγώνους,
1 τῶν γοῦν x.T.A.: text probably defective; what follows
appears to relate to τὰ ποιώδη.
346
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vin. 1-3
plants growing in clumps. By ‘herbaceous’ I mean
here such plants as the marsh celery and the like;
by ‘plants growing in clumps’ I mean reeds galin-
gale phleo rush sedge—which are common to almost
all rivers and such situations.
And in some such places are found brambles
Christ’s thorn and other trees, such as willow abele
plane. Some of these are water plants to the extent
of being submerged, while some project a little from
the water; of some again the roots and a small part
of the stem are under water, but the rest of the
body is altogether above it. This is the case with
willow alder plane lime, and all water-loving trees.
These too are common to almost all rivers, for
they grow even in the Nile. However the plane is
not abundant by rivers, while the abele is even more
scarce, and the manna-ash and ash are commonest.
At any rate of those! that grow in Egypt the list is
too long to enumerate separately ; however, to speak
generally, they are all edible and have sweet flavours.
But they differ in sweetness, and we may distinguish
also three as the most eet for food, namely the
papyrus, the plant called sarz, and the plant which
they call mnasvon.
*The papyrus does not grow in deep water, but
only in a depth of about two cubits, and sometimes
shallower. The thickness of the root is that of the
wrist of a stalwart man, and the length above four
cubits*; it grows above the ground itself, throwing
down slender matted roots into the mud, and
producing above the stalks which give it its name
‘papyrus’ ; these are three-cornered and about ten
Eline sess:
3 τετράπηχυ: δέκα πήχεις MSS. See next note.
347
THEOPHRASTUS
μέγεθος ὡς δέκα πήχεις, κόμην ἔχοντας ἀχρεῖον
ἀσθενῆ καρπὸν δὲ ὅλως οὐδένα" τούτους δ᾽ ἀναδί-
δωσι κατὰ πολλὰ μέρη. χρῶνται δὲ ταῖς μὲν
ῥίζαις ἀντὶ ξύλων οὐ μόνον τῷ κάειν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ
σκεύη ἄλλα ποιεῖν ἐξ αὐτῶν παντοδαπά: πολὺ
γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ξύλον καὶ καλόν. αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ πά-
πυρος πρὸς πλεῖστα χρήσιμος" καὶ γὰρ πλοῖα
ποιοῦσιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου ἱστία τε
πλέκουσι καὶ ψιάθους καὶ ἐσθῆτά τινα καὶ
στρωμνὰς καὶ σχοινία τε καὶ ἕτερα πλείω. καὶ
ἐμφανέστατα δὴ τοῖς ἔξω τὰ βιβλία: μάλιστα δὲ
καὶ πλείστη βοήθεια πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ
γίνεται. μασῶνται γὰρ ἅπαντες οἱ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ
τὸν πάπυρον καὶ ὠμὸν καὶ ἑφθὸν καὶ ὀπτόν" καὶ
τὸν μὲν χυλὸν καταπίνουσι, τὸ δὲ μάσημα ἐκβάλ-
λουσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν πάπυρος τοιοῦτός τε καὶ ταύ-
τας παρέχεται τὰς χρείας. γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐν
Συρίᾳ περὶ τὴν λίμνην ἐν 7 καὶ ὁ κάλαμος ὁ
εὐώδης: ὅθεν καὶ ᾿Αντίγονος εἰς τὰς ναῦς ἐποιεῖτο
τὰ σχοινία.
Τὸ ὸ δὲ σάρι φύεται μὲν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι περὶ τὰ ἕλη
καὶ τὰ πεδία, ἐπειδὰν ὁ ὁ ποταμὸς ἀπέλθῃ, ῥίξαν δὲ
ἔχει σκληρὰν καὶ συνεστραμμένην, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς
φύεται τὰ σαρία καλούμενα" ταῦτα δὲ μῆκος μὲν
ὡς δύο πήχεις, πάχος δὲ ἡλίκον ὁ δάκτυλος ὁ
μέγας τῆς χειρός" τρίγωνον δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, καθάπερ
ὁ πάπυρος, καὶ κόμην ἔχον παραπλήσιον. μα-
σώμενοι δὲ ἐκβάλλουσι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μάσημα, TH
ῥίζῃ δὲ οἱ σιδηρουργοὶ χρῶνται" τὸν yap ἄνθρακα
ποιεῖ χρηστὸν διὰ τὸ σκληρὸν εἶναι τὸ ξύλον.
δὲ μνάσιον ποιῶδές ἐστιν, ὥστ᾽ οὐδεμίαν
παρέχεται χρείαν πλὴν τὴν εἰς τροφήν.
348
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vin. 3-6
cubits! long, having a plume which is useless and
weak, and no fruit whatever; and these stalks the
plant sends up at many points. They use the roots
instead of wood, not only for burning, but also for
making a great variety of articles; for the wood is
abundant and good. ‘The ‘ papyrus’ itself? is useful
for many purposes; for they make boats from it,
and from the rind they weave sails mats a kind of
raiment coverlets ropes and many other things.
Most familiar to foreigners are the papyrus-rolls
made of it; but above all the plant also is of very
great use in the way of food.’ For all the natives
chew the papyrus both raw boiled and roasted ; they
swallow the juice and spit out the quid. Such is
the papyrus and such its uses. It grows also in
Syria about the lake in which grows also sweet-
flag; and Antigonus made of it the cables for his
ships.
4The sari grows in the water in marshes and
plains, when the river has left them; it has a hard
twisted root, and from it grow what they call the
saria®; these are about two cubits long and as
thick as a man’s thumb; this stalk too is three-
cornered, like the papyrus, and has similar foliage.
This also they chew, spitting out the quid; and
smiths use the root, for it makes excellent charcoal,
because the wood is hard.
Mnasion is herbaceous, so that it has no use except
for food.
1 δέκα πήχεις : τετραπήχεις MSS. The two numbers seem
to have changed places (Bartels ap. Sch.). ς΄. Plin, le.
2 ¢.e. the stalk.
8. ef. Diod. 1. 80. 4 ῬΠΠ 13: 129:
5 7,6. stalks, like those of the papyrus.
349
THEOPHRASTUS
Kal ta μὲν γλυκύτητι διαφέροντα ταῦτά ἐστι.
φύεται δὲ καὶ ἕτερον ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι καὶ ταῖς λίμ-
vats ὃ οὐ συνάπτει τῇ γῆ, τὴν μὲν φύσιν ὅμοιοι
τοῖς κρίνοις, πολυφυλλότερον δὲ καὶ παρ᾽ ἄλληλα
τὰ φύλλα καθάπερ ἐν διστοιχίᾳ" Δρῶμα δὲ χλω-
ρὸν ἔχει σφόδρα. χρῶνται δὲ οἱ ἰατροὶ πρός τε
τὰ γυναικεῖα αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸς τὰ κατάγματα.
[Ταῦτα δὲ γίνεται ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ εἰ μὴ ὁ ῥοῦς
ἐξέφερεν' συμβαίνει δὲ ὥστε καὶ ἀποφέρεσθαι'
ἕτερα ᾿ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν πλείω. |
ὋὉ δὲ κύαμος φύεται μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι καὶ λίμ-
vais, καυλὸς δὲ αὐτοῦ μῆκος μὲν ὁ μακρότατος
εἰς τέτταρας πήχεις, πάχος δὲ δακτυλιαῖος,
ὅμοιος δὲ καλάμῳ μαλακῷ ἀγονάτῳ. διαφύσεις
δὲ ἔνδοθεν ἔχει δι᾽ ὅλου διειλημμένας ὁμοίας τοῖς
κηρίοις: ἐπὶ τούτῳ δὲ ἡ ἢ κωδύα, παρομοία σφηκίῳ
περιφερεῖ, καὶ ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν κυττάρων κύαμος
μικρὸν ὑπεραίρων αὐτῆς, πλῆθος δὲ οἱ πλεῖστοι
τριάκοντα. τὸ δὲ ἄνθος διπλάσιον ἢ μήκωνος,
χρῶμα δὲ ὅμοιον ῥόδῳ κατακορές" ἐπάνω δὲ τοῦ
ὕδατος ἡ κωδύα. mapapverar δὲ φύλλα μεγάλα
παρ᾽ ἕκαστον τῶν κυάμων, ὧν ἴσα τὰ μεγέθη
πετάσῳ Θετταλικῇ τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχοντα καυλὸν τῷ
τῶν κυάμων. συντρίψαντι δ᾽ ἕκαστον τῶν κυά-
pov φανερόν ἐστι τὸ πικρὸν συνεστραμμένον, ἐξ
1 Ottelia alismoeides, See Index App. (18).
2 ταῦτα... πλείω conj. W. after Sch.; I have also trans-
posed the two sentences, after Sch. The whole passage in [ ]
(which is omitted by G) i is apparently either an interpolation
or defective. σημαίνει δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ ἀποφέρεσθαι: ἕτερα δὲ ἀπ’
αὐτῶν τὰ πλεῖα: ταῦτα δὲ γίνεται ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ" εἰ μὴ ὁ pods
ἐξέφερεν Ald.; so also U, but αὑτῶν πλείω.
3590
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vin. 6-7
Such are the plants which excel in sweetness of
taste. There is also another plant! which grows in
the marshes and lakes, but which does not take hold
of the ground; in character it is like a lily, but it is
more leafy, and has its leaves opposite to one
another, as it were in a double row; the colour is a
deep green. Physicians use it for the complaints of
women and for fractures.
Now these plants grow in the river, unless the
stream has thrown them up on land; it sometimes
happens that they are borne down the stream, and
that then other plants grow from them.?
5 But the ‘Egyptian bean’ grows in the marshes
and lakes; the length of its stalk at longest is four
cubits, it is as thick as a man’s finger, and resembles
a pliant’ reed without joints. Inside it has tubes
which run distinct from one another right through,
like a honey-comb: on this is set the ‘head,’ which
is like a round wasps’ nest, and in each of the cells is
a ‘bean,’ which slightly projects from it; at most
there are thirty of these. The flower is twice as
large as a poppy’s, and the colour is like a rose, of a
deep shade; the ‘head’ is above the water. Large
leaves grow at the side of each plant, equal ® in size
to a Thessalian hat®; these have a stalk exactly like
that? of the plant. If one of the ‘beans’ is crushed,
you find the bitter substance coiled up, of which the
5 Plin. 18. 121 and 122.
4 μαλακῷ Ald.H.G Plin. l.c. Athen. 3. 2 cites the passage
with μακρῷ.
5 ἴσα conj. W.; καὶ Ald.
6 πετάσῳ conj. Sch. from Diose. 2. 106; πίλῳ Ald.H.; of
πέτασοι are mentioned below (δ 9) without explanation. The
comparison is omitted by ἃ and Plin. l.c.
7 4.e. that which carries the κωδύα,
35!
THEOPHRASTUS
8 οὗ γίνεται ὁ πῖλος. τὰ μὲν. οὖν περὶ τὸν καρπὸν
τοιαῦτα. ἡ δὲ ῥίξα παχυτέρα τοῦ καλάμου τοῦ
παχυτάτου καὶ διαφύσεις ὁμοίως, ἔχουσα τῷ
καυλῷ. ἐσθίουσι δ᾽ αὐτὴν καὶ ὠμὴν καὶ ἑφθὴν
καὶ ὀπτήν, καὶ οἱ περὶ τὰ ἕλη τούτῳ σίτῳ χρῶν-
ται. φύεται μὲν οὖν ὁ πολὺς αὐτόματος" οὐ μὴν
ἀλλὰ καὶ καταβάλλουσιν ἐν πηλῷ ἀχυρώσαντες
εὖ μάλα πρὸς τὸ κατενεχθῆναί τε καὶ μεῖναι καὶ
μὴ διαφθαρῆναι: καὶ οὕτω κατασκευάζουσι τοὺς
κυαμῶνας" ἂν δ ἅπαξ ἀντιλάβηται, μένει διὰ
τέλους. ἰσχυρὰ γὰρ ἡ ῥίζα καὶ οὐ πόρρω τῆς
τῶν καλάμων πλὴν ἐπακανθίζουσα' δι’ ὃ καὶ ὁ
κροκόδειλος φεύγει μὴ προσκόψῃ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ
τῷ μὴ ὀξὺ καθορᾷν' γίνεται δὲ οὗτος καὶ ἐν
Συρίᾳ καὶ κατὰ Κιλικίαν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐκπέττουσιν
αἱ χῶραι" καὶ περὶ Τορώνην τῆς Χαλκιδικῆς ἐν
λίμνῃ τινὶ “μετρίᾳ τῷ μεγέθει" καὶ αὐτοῦ πέττεται
τελέως καὶ τελεοκαρπεῖ.
ὋὉ δὲ λωτὸς καλούμενος φύεται μὲν ὁ πλεῖστος
ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις, ὃ ὅταν ἡ χώρα κατακλυσθῇ. τού-
του δὲ ἡ μὲν τοῦ καυλοῦ φύσις ὁμοία τῇ τοῦ
κυάμου, καὶ οἱ πέτασοι δὲ ὡσαύτως, πλὴν ἐλάτ-
τους καὶ λεπτότεροι. ἐπιφύεται δὲ ὁμοίως ὁ
καρπὸς τῷ τοῦ κυάμου. τὸ ἄνθος αὐτοῦ λευκὸν
ἐμφερὲς τῇ στενότητι τῶν φύλλων τοῖς τοῦ
κρίνου, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ πυκνὰ ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοις φύεται.
ταῦτα δὲ ὅ ὅταν μὲν ὁ ἥλιος δύῃ συμμύει καὶ συγ-
καλύπτει τὴν κωδύαν, ἅμα δὲ τῇ ἀνατολῇ διοί-
1 ὃ πῖλος UMV; 7 πῖλος Ald.H.; ?=germen Sch.
2 of. Diosc. 2. 107.
5 καὶ καταβ. conj. W.; καταβ. Ald.; καταβ. δ᾽ UMV.
4 Plin. 13. 107 and 108.
585
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vit. 7-9
pilos! is made. So much for the fruit. The root
is thicker than the thickest reed, and is made up of
distinct tubes, like the stalk. *They eat it both
raw boiled and roasted, and the people of the
marshes make this their food. It mostly grows of
its own accord; however they also sow? it in the
mud, having first well mixed the seed with chaff, so
that it may be carried down and remain in the
ground without being rotted; and so they prepare
the ‘bean’ fields, and if the plant once takes hold it
is permanent. For the root is strong and not unlike
that of reeds, except that it is prickly on the surface.
Wherefore the crocodile avoids it, lest he may strike
his eye on it, since he has not sharp sight. This
plant also grows in Syria and in parts of Cilicia, but
these countries cannot ripen it; also about Torone in
Chalcidice in a certain lake of small size; and this
lake ripens it perfectly and matures its fruit.
te plant called the lotos (Nile water-lily) grows
chiefly in the plains when the land is inundated.
The character of the stalk of this plant is like that
of the ‘Egyptian bean,’ and so are the ‘hat-like’
leaves,> except that they are smaller and slenderer.
And the fruit ® grows on the stalk in the same way
as that of the ‘bean.’ The flower is white, resem-
bling in the narrowness of its petals those of the
lily,” but there are many petals growing close one
upon another. When the sun sets, these close® and
cover up the ‘head,’ but with sunrise they open and
rep. 8:7:
5 καρπὸς conj. W.; Awrds MSS. Possibly the fruit was
Bpecially called λωτός.
7 of. Hdt. 2. 92; Diosc. 4. 113.
8 δύῃ, συμμύει conj. St.; συμμύει MV; συμμύη U3 συμμύῃ
(omitting καὶ) Ald. Η.
353
12
THEOPHRASTUS
yetat καὶ ὑπὲρ tod ὕδατος γίνεται. τοῦτο δὲ
ποιεῖ μέχρι ἂν ἡ κωδύα ἐκτελεωθῇ καὶ τὰ ἄνθη
ι0 περιρρυῇ. τῆς δὲ κωδύας τὸ μέγεθος. ἡλίκον
μήκωνος τῆς μεγίστης, καὶ διέξωσται ταῖς κατα-
τομαῖς τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῇ μήκωνι" πλὴν πυκνο-
τερος ἐν ταύταις ὁ καρπός. ἔστι δὲ παρόμοιος
τῷ
κέγχρῳ. ἐν δὲ τῷ Εὐφράτῃ τὴν κωδύαν φασὶ
καὶ τὰ ἄνθη δύνειν καὶ ὑποκαταβαίνειν τῆς ὀψίας
μέχρι μεσῶν νυκτῶν καὶ τῷ βάθει πόρρω" οὐδὲ
γὰρ καθιέντα τὴν χεῖρα λαβεῖν εἶναι. μετὰ δὲ
ταῦτα ὅταν ὄρθρος ἢ πάλιν ἐπανιέναι καὶ πρὸς
ἡμέραν ἔτι μᾶλλον, ἅμα τῷ ἡλίῳ φανερὸν <dv>
ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ ἀνοίγειν τὸ ἄνθος, ἀνοιχθέν-
τος δὲ ἔτι ἀναβαίνειν" συχνὸν δὲ τὸ ὑπεραῖρον
ll εἶναι τὸ ὕδωρ. τὰς δὲ κωδύας ταύτας οἱ Αἰγύ-
πτίιοι συνθέντες εἰς, τὸ αὐτὸ σήπουσιν' ἐπὰν δὲ
σαπῇ τὸ κέλυφος, ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ κλύζοντες ἐξαι-
ροῦσι τὸν καρπόν, ξηράναντες δὲ καὶ πτίσαντες
ἄρτους ποιοῦσι καὶ τούτῳ χρῶνται σιτίῳ. ἡ δὲ
pila τοῦ λωτοῦ καλεῖται μὲν κόρσιον, ἐστὶ δὲ
στρογγύλη, τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκον “μῆλον Κυδώνεον᾽
φλοιὸς δὲ περίκειται περὶ αὐτὴν μέλας ἐμφερὴς
τῷ
\
κασταναϊκῷ καρύῳ" τὸ δὲ ἐντὸς λευκόν, ἑψό-
μενον δὲ καὶ ὀπτώμενον γίνεται λεκιθῶδες, ἡδὺ δὲ
ἐν
δὲ
τῇ προσφορᾷ: ἐσθίεται δὲ καὶ ὠμή, ἀρίστη
ἐν [τῷ] ὕδατι ἑφθὴ καὶ ὀπτή. καὶ τὰ μὲν
ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν σχεδὸν ταῦτά ἐστιν.
354
Ἔν δὲ τοῖς ἀμμώδεσι χωρίοις, ἅ ἐστιν οὐ πόρρω
1 ef. Diosce. ζ. 6. 3 ef CPi 2, 199-15. Pling V3: 208.
3 ὀψίας conj. W. from Plin. l.c.; ? ὀψίας ὥρας.
4 «ὃν» add. W.
5 κέλυφος 1.6. fruit: καρπόν te, seeds,
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vit. 9-12
appear above the water. This the plant does until
the ‘head’ is matured and the flowers have fallen oft.
1 The size of the ‘head’ is that of the largest poppy,
and it has grooves all round it in the same way as
the poppy, but the fruit is set closer in these. ‘This
is like millet. 2In the Euphrates they say that the
‘head’ and the flowers sink and go under water in
the evening? till midnight, and sink to a consider-
able depth; for one can not even reach them by
plunging one’s hand in; and that after this, when
dawn comes round, they rise and goon rising towards
day-break, being* visible above the water when the
sun appears; and that then the plant opens its flower,
and, after itis open, it still rises; and that it is
a considerable part which projects above the water.
These ‘heads’ the Egyptians heap together and
leave to decay, and when the ‘pod ’® has decayed, they
wash the ‘ head’ in the river and take out the $ fruit,’ ὃ
and, having dried and pounded ὃ it, they make loaves
of it, which they use for food. The root of the lotos
is called korsion,’ and it is round and about the size
of a quince ; it is enclosed in a black ‘bark,’ like the
shell of a chestnut. ‘The inside is white; but when
it is boiled or roasted, it becomes of the colour of
the yolk of an egg and is sweet to taste. The root
is also eaten raw, though it is best when boiled in
water or roasted.® Such are the plants found in
water.
In sandy places which are not® far from the river
6 πτίσαντες : cf. Hdt. 2. 92. 7 ef. Strabo 17. 2. 4.
8 ἐσθίεται. .. ὀπτή conj. Sch. from Plin. /.c. and G; ἐσθ.
δὲ καὶ ὠμόν: ἀρίστη δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν αὐτὴ wun Ald.; ἀρίστη δὲ
καὶ τοῖς ὕδασιν αὐτὴν UMV, then oun U, ὠμῆ V, wun M ; ἀρίστη
δὲ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ἑφθὴ ἣ καὶ ὀπτή Η.
® οὐ was apparently not in Pliny’s text; (21. 88.)
355
13
14
THEOPHRASTUS
Tov ποταμοῦ, φύεται κατὰ γῆς ὃ καλεῖται μαλιν-
αθάλλη, στρογγύλον τῷ σχήματι μέγεθος δὲ
ἡλίκον μέσπιλον ἀπύρηνον δὲ ἄφλοιον'" φύλλα
δὲ ἀφίησιν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὅμοια κυπείρῳ' ταῦτα
συνάγοντες οἱ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἕψουσιν ἐ ἐν βρυτῷ
τῷ ἀπὸ τῶν κριθῶν. καὶ γίνεται, γλυκέα σφόδρα'
χρῶνται δὲ πάντες ὥσπερ τραγήμασι.
Τοῖς δὲ βουσὶ καὶ τοῖς προβάτοις ἅπαντα μὲν
τὰ φυόμενα. ἐδώδιμά ἐ ἐστιν, ἕν δέ τι γένος ἐν ταῖς
λίμναις καὶ τοῖς ἕλεσι φύεται διαφέρον, ὃ ὃ καὶ
χκωρὸν νέμονται καὶ ξηραίνοντες παρέχουσι κατὰ
χειμῶνα τοῖς βουσὶν ὅταν ἐργάσωνται" καὶ τὰ
σώματα ἔχουσιν εὖ σίτου ἄλλο λαμβάνοντες
οὐθέν.
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο παραφυόμενον αὐτόματον
ἐν τῷ σίτῳ: τοῦτο δέ, ὅταν ὁ σῖτος ἢ καθαρός,
ὑποπτίσαντες καταβάλλουσι τοῦ χειμῶνος ὑγ-
ρὰν εἰς γῆν' βλαστήσαντος δὲ τεμόντες καὶ
ξηράναντες παρέχουσι καὶ τοῦτο βουσὶ καὶ
ἵπποις καὶ τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις σὺν τῷ καρπῷ τῷ ἐπι-
γινομένῳ: ὁ δὲ καρπὸς μέγεθος μὲν ἡλίκον σή-
σαμον, στρογγύλος δὲ καὶ τῷ χρώματι χλωρός,
ἀγαθὸς δὲ διαφερόντως. ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ μὲν οὖν
τὰ περιττὰ σχεδὸν ταῦτα ἄν τις “λάβοι.
IX. ἽἝκαστοι δὲ τῶν» “ποταμῶν ἐοίκασιν ἴδιόν
τι φέρειν, ὥσπερ καὶ τῶν χερσαίων. ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ
ὁ τρίβολος ἐν ἅπασιν οὐδὲ πανταχοῦ φύεται,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἑλώδεσι τῶν ποταμῶν" ἐν μεγίστῳ
δὲ βάθει πενταπήχει ἢ μικρῷ μείζονι, καθάπερ
1 Plin. 1.6. anthalium, whence Salm. conj. ἀνθάλλιον.
2 Saccharum biflorum. See Index App. (19).
3 εὖ σίτου ἄλλο conj. W.; εὐσιτοῦντα Ald.
356
ENQUIRY iNTO PLANTS, IV, vit. 12-1x. 1
there grows under ground the thing called malina-
thalle}; this is round in shape and as large asa medlar,
but has no stone and no bark. It sends out leaves
like those of galingale. These the people of the
country collect and boil in beer made from barley,
and they become extremely sweet, and all men use
them as sweetmeats.
All the things that grow in such places may be
eaten by oxen and sheep, but there is one kind of
plant ? which grows in the lakes and marshes which is
specially good for food: they graze their cattle on it
when it is green, and also dry it and give it in the
winter to the oxen after their work; and these keep
in good condition when they have no other? kind
of food.
There is also another plant 4 which comes up of its
own accord among the corn; this, when the harvest
is cleared, they crush slightly°® and lay during the
winter on® moist ground; when it shoots, they cut
and dry it and give this also to the cattle and horses
and beasts of burden with the fruit which forms on
it. The fruit in size is as large as sesame, but round
and green in colour, and exceedingly good. Such
one might take to be specially remarkable plants of
Egypt.
IX. Every river seems to bear some peculiar plant,
just as does each part of the dryland. 7 For not even
the water-chestnut grows in all rivers nor everywhere,
but only in marshy rivers, and only in those whose
depth is not more or not much more than five cubits,
4 Corchorus trilocularis. See Index App. (20).
5G seems to have read ὑποπτίσαντες (leviter pinsentes) ;
ὑποπτήσαντες ὟΝ. with Ald.H.
8 εἰς conj. W.; τὴν Ald.
7 Plin. 21. 98 ; Diosc. 4. 15.
351
7)
THEOPHRASTUS
περὶ τὸν Στρυμόνα" σχεδὸν δὲ ἐν τοσούτῳ καὶ
ὁ κάλαμος καὶ τὰ ἄλλα. ὑπερέχει δὲ οὐθὲν
αὐτοῦ πλὴν αὐτὰ τὰ φύλλα ὥσπερ ἐπινέοντα
καὶ κρύπτοντα τὸν τρίβολον, ὁ δὲ τρίβολος αὐτὸς
ἐν τῷ ὕδατι νεύων εἰς βυθόν. τὸ δὲ φύλλον ἐστὶ
πλατὺ προσεμφερὲς τῷ τῆς πτελέας, μίσχον δὲ
ἔχει σφόδρα μακρόν" ὁ δὲ καυλὸς ἐξ ἄκρου
παχύτατος, ὅθεν τὰ φύλλα καὶ ὃ καρπός, τὰ
δὲ κάτω λεπτότερος ἀεὶ μέχρι τῆς ῥίξης' ἔχει
δὲ ἀποπεφυκότα ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ “τριχώδη τὰ μὲν
πλεῖστα παράλληλα τὰ δὲ καὶ παραλλάττοντα,
κάτωθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης μεγάλα τὰ δὲ ἄνω ἀεὶ ἐλάτ-
τω προϊοῦσιν, ὥστε τὰ τελευταῖα μικρὰ πάμπαν
εἶναι καὶ τὴν διαφορὰν μεγάλην τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς
ῥίζης πρὸς τὸν καρπόν. ἔχει δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς
καυλοῦ καὶ παραβλαστήματα πλείω: καὶ γὰρ
τρία καὶ τέτταρα, μέγιστον ἐν αἰεὶ τὸ πλησιαί-
τερον τῆς ῥίζης, εἶτα τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὰ
ἄλλα κατὰ λόγον. τὸ δὲ παραβλάστημά ἐστιν
ὥσπερ καυλὸς ἄλλος λεπτότερος μὲν τοῦ πρώτου,
τὰ δὲ φύλλα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ἔχων ὁμοίως. ὁ
δὲ καρπὸς μέλας καὶ σκληρὸς σφόδρα. ῥίξαν
δὲ ἡλίκην καὶ ποίαν ἔχει σκεπτέον. ἡ μὲν οὖν
φύσις τοιαύτη. φύεται μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ
τοῦ πίπτοντος καὶ ἀφίησι βλαστὸν τοῦ ἦρος"
φασὶ δὲ οἱ μὲν εἶναι, ἐπέτειον οἱ δὲ διαμένειν
γὴν μὲν ῥίζαν εἰς χρόνον, ἐξ ἧς καὶ τὴν βλά-
στησιν εἶναι τοῦ καυλοῦ. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν σκε-
πτέον. ἴδιον δὲ παρὰ τἄλλα τὸ τῶν παραφυομένων
ἐκ τοῦ καυλοῦ τριχωδῶν: οὔτε γὰρ φύλλα ταῦτα
οὔτε καυλός: ἐπεὶ τό γε τῆς παραβλαστήσεως
κοινὸν καλάμου καὶ ἄλλων.
358
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. rx. 1-3
as the Strymon. (In rivers of such a depth grow
also reeds and other plants.) No part of it projects
from the water except just the leaves; these float as
it were and conceal the ‘ chestnut,’ which is itself
under water and bends down towards the bottom.
The leaf is broad, like that of the elm, and has a
very long stalk. The stem is thickest at the top,
whence spring the leaves and the fruit ; below it gets
thinner down to the root. It has springing from it
hair-like growths, most of which are parallel to each
other, but some are irregular; below, starting from
the root, they are large, but, as one gets higher up
the plant, they become smaller, so that those at the
top are quite small and there is a great contrast
between the root and the top where the fruit grows.
The plant also has on the same stalk several side-
growths; of these there are three or four, and the
largest is always that which is nearer to the root,
the next largest is the one next above it, and so on
in proportion : this sidegrowth is like another stalk,
but slenderer than the original one, though like that
it has leaves and fruit. The fruit is black and
extremely hard. The size and character of the root
are matter for further enquiry. Such isthe character
of this plant. It grows from the fruit which falls,
and begins to grow in spring. Some say that it is
annual, others that the root persists for a time, and
that from it grows the new stalk. This then is
matter for enquiry. However quite peculiar to this
plant is the hair-like character of the growths which
spring from the stalk; for these are neither leaves
nor stalk; though reeds and other things have also
sidegrowths.
359
THEOPHRASTUS
X. Ta μὲν οὖν ἴδια θεωρητέον ἰδίως δῆλον ὅτι,
\ \ \ lal n ‘ “
τὰ δὲ κοινὰ κοινῶς. διαιρεῖν δὲ χρὴ καὶ ταῦτα
\ \ , \ \
κατὰ TOUS τόπους, οἷον εἰ τὰ μὲν ἕλεια τὰ δὲ
A a \
λιμναῖα τὰ δὲ ποτάμια μᾶλλον ἢ Kal κοινὰ πάν-
lal / - cal an
To” τῶν τόπων" διαιρεῖν δὲ Kal ποῖα ταὐτὰ ἐν TO
A a a / x a n r
ὑγρῷ καὶ τῷ ξηρῷ φύεται, καὶ ποῖα ἐν TO ὑγρῷ
ς n > n Ν A [2
μόνον, ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὰ κοινότατα εἰρη-
μένα πρότερον.
2 2 95 a / a ἮΝ ’
Ev δ᾽ οὖν τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ περὶ ᾿Ορχομενὸν τάδ
> \ Ν / / \ δ / >’ Me
ἐστὶ τὰ φυόμενα δένδρα καὶ ὑλήματα, itéa
> , 7, ΄, ev 5) \ \ ε
ἐλαίαγνος σίδη κάλαμος ὅ τε αὐλητικὸς καὶ ὁ
Φ / x 7 ” /
ἕτερος κύπειρον φλεὼς τύφη, ETL ye pnvavOos
΄ ἃ
ἴκμη καὶ τὸ καλούμενον ἴπνον. ὃ γὰρ προσαγο-
/ / ἢ Ν / > Ὁ , >
ρεύουσι λέμνα τούτου τὰ πλείω Kal’ ὕδατός ἐστι.
Ν e
Τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα γνώριμα" ὁ δ᾽ ἐλαίαγνος
, \
Kal ἡ σίδη καὶ ἡ μήνανθος Kat ἡ ἴκμη καὶ τὸ
’ / ,
ἴπνον ἴσως μὲν φύεται καὶ ἑτέρωθι, προσαγορεύε-
Ν ” 2 / / \ \ > a
tat δὲ ἄλλοις ὀνόμασι; λεκτέον δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν.
” NEC \ ’ , ΄ \ A \
ἔστι δὲ ὁ μὲν ἐλαίαγνος φύσει μὲν θαμνῶδες καὶ
, al , ΄ \ x
παρόμοιον τοῖς ἄγνοις, φύλλον δὲ ἔχει TO μὲν
Ν
σχήματι παραπλήσιον μαλακὸν δέ, ὥσπερ αἱ
7 A DO ” θ δὲ a a 4
μήηλεαι καὶ χνοωδες. avlos 0€ τῷ τῆς λεύκης
«“ », \ \ ᾽ / Ne /
ὅμοιον ἔλαττον: καρπὸν δὲ οὐδένα φέρει. φύεται
n \ \ an
δὲ ὁ πλεῖστος μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν πλοάδων νήσων; εἰσὶ
4 Ἀπ ΙΝ “ / “ > > /
yap τινες καὶ ἐνταῦθα πλοάδες, ὥσπερ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ
l τὰ δὲ κοινὰ κοινῶς conj. Sch. from G ; τὰ δὲ κοινῶς Ald. Η,
2 ταὐτὰ conj. Sch.: ταῦτα Ald.
3 πρὸς τὰ κοιν. wp. mp. conj. W. supported by G3; κοινότατα
προσειρημένα πρότερον Ald. H,
360
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 1-2
Of the plants peculiar to the lake of Orchomenos (Lake Copais),
especially its reeds ; and of reeds in general.
X. Plants peculiar to particular places must be
considered separately, while a general account may
be given of those which are generally distributed.!
But even the latter must be classified according to
locality ; thus some belong to marshes, others to
lakes, others to rivers, or again others may be common
to all kinds of locality : we must also distinguish: which
occur alike? in wet and in dry ground, and which
only in wet ground, marking these off in a general
way from those mentioned above as being most
impartial.*
Now in the lake near Orchomenos grow the
following trees and woody plants: willow goat-willow
water-lily reeds (both that used for making pipes and
the other kind) galingale phleos bulrush ; and also
‘moon-flower’ duckweed and the plant called
marestail: as for the plant called water-chickweed
the greater part of it grows under water.*
Now of these most are familiar: the goat-willow
water-lily ‘moon-flower’ duckweed and marestail
probably grow also elsewhere, but are called by
different names. Of these we must speak. The
goat-willow is of shrubby habit and like the chaste-
tree: its leaf resembles that leaf in shape, but it is
soft like that of the apple,® and downy. The bloom ®
is like that of the abele, but smaller, and it bears no
fruit. It grows chiefly on the floating islands; (for
here too there are floating islands, as in the marshes
4 τούτου Ta πλείω καθ᾽ 6d. conj. Sch.; τοῦτο πλείω τὸ καθ᾽ 59.
UM ; τοῦτο πλεῖον τὸ καθ᾽ ὑδ. Ald.
> μηλέαι perhaps here =quince (μηλέα Κυδωνία).
ὁ ἄνθος here = catkin,
261
THEOPHRASTUS
περὶ Ta ἕλη καὶ ἐν Θεσπρωτίδι καὶ ἐν ἄλλαις λίμ-
vats: ἐλάττων δὲ καθ᾽ ὕδατος" ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐλαίαγνος
τοιοῦτον.
Ἢ δὲ σίδη τὴν “μὲν μορφήν ἐστιν ὁμοία τῇ
μήκωνι" καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἄνω κυτινῶδες τοιοῦτον ἔχει,
πλὴν μεῖζον ὡς κατὰ λόγον" μεγέθει δὲ ὅλος ὁ
ὄγκος ἡλίκον μῆλον" ἔστι δὲ οὐ γυμνόν, ἀλλὰ ὑμένες
περὶ αὐτὴν λευκοί, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔξωθεν φύλλα
ποώδη παραπλήσια τοῖς τῶν ῥόδων ὅταν ἐν
κάλυξιν Oot, τέτταρα TOV ἀριθμόν' ἀνοιχθεῖσα
δὲ τοὺς κόκκους ἐρυθροὺς μὲν ἔχει τῷ σχήματι
δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίους ταῖς poats ἀλλὰ περιφερεῖς μικροὺς
δὲ καὶ οὐ πολλῷ μείζους κέγχρου" τὸν δὲ χυλὸν
ὑδατώδη τινά, καθάπερ ὁ ὁ τῶν πυρῶν. ἁδρύνεται
δὲ τοῦ θέρους, μίσχον δὲ ἔχει μακρόν. τὸ δὲ
ἄνθος ὅμοιον ῥόδου κάλυκι, μεῖζον δὲ καὶ σχεδὸν
διπλάσιον τῷ μεγέθει. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸ
φύλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος" μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, ὅταν
ἀπανθήσῃ καὶ συστῇ τὸ περικάρπιον, κατακλίνε-
σθαί φασιν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ μᾶλλον, τέλος δὲ συνάπτειν
τῇ γῇ καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ἐκχεῖν.
Καρποφορεῖν δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ
βούτομον καὶ τὸν φλεών. εἶναι δὲ τοῦ βουτόμου
μέλανα, τῷ δὲ μεγέθει, παραπλήσιον τῷ τῆς
σίδης. τοῦ δὲ φλεὼ τὴν καλουμένην ἀνθήλην,
1 ἐλάττων. .. ὕδατος : sense doubtful. G. seems to render
a different reading.
2 7.e. the flower-head, which, as well as the plant, was
called σίδη.
3 μήκωνι can hardly be right: suspected by H.
4 cf. Athen. 14. θά.
5. ze, petals.
362
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 2-4
of Egypt, in Thesprotia, and in other lakes). When
it grows under water, it is smaller.1 Such is the
goat-willow.
The water-lily? is in shape like the poppy.? For
the top of it has this character, being shaped like
the pomegranate flower,’ but it is longer in propor-
tion to the size of the plant. Its size in fact as a
whole is that of an apple; but it is not bare, having
round it white membranes,°® and attached to these
on the outside are grass-green ‘leaves,’® like those
of roses when they are still in bud, and of these
there are four; when it is opened it shews its seeds,
which are red; in shape however they are not like
pomegranate’ seeds, but round small and_ not
much longer than millet seeds; the taste is insipid,
like that of wheat-grains. It ripens in summer and
has a long stalk. The flower is like a rose-bud,
but larger, almost twice as large. Now this and the
leaf float on the water; but later, when the bloom is
over and the fruit-case ὃ has formed, they say that it
sinks deeper into the water, and finally reaches the
bottom and sheds its fruit.
Of the plants of the lake they say that water-lily
sedge and phieos bear fruit, and that that of the
sedge is black, and in size like that of the water-lily.
The fruit of phleos is what is called the ‘plume, "
6 2,6. sepals.
7 ῥόαις conj. Bod. from Nic. Ther. 887 and Schol.; ῥίζαις
UMVAIld. H.
8 περικάρπιον conj. W.; κατακάρπιον MSS. κατα- probably
due to κατακλίνεσθαι.
9 of. Diose. 3. 118. ἀνθήλην, sc. καρπὸν εἶναι, But Sch.
suggests that further description of the fruit has dropped
out, and that the clause @... κονίας does not refer to the
fruit.
263
9»
THEOPHRASTUS
. lal \ Ν a ᾽
ᾧ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς κονίας. τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν οἷον
πλακουντῶδές TL μαλακον ἐπίπυρρον. ἔτι δὲ
\ a \ \ a) ‘ Ss \ a
καὶ τοῦ φλεὼ Kal τοῦ βουτόμου To μὲν θῆλυ
‘ /
ἄκαρπον, χρήσιμον δὲ πρὸς τὰ πλόκανα, TO δὲ
ἄρρεν ἀχρεῖον.
Π \ δὲ a 7 \ 4 θ \ ἮΝ
ερὶ δὲ τῆς ἴκμης καὶ μηνάνθους καὶ Tod ἴπνου
σκεπτέον.
> ͵΄ ᾿ ΄ > \ ς , \ rs
Ἰδιώτατον δὲ τούτων ἐστὶν ἡ τύφη Kal TO
ΝΜ ἊΨ a \ / -“
ἄφυλλον εἶναι καὶ τῷ μὴ πολύρριζον τοῖς ἄλλοις
€ >
ὁμοίως: ἐπεὶ τἄλλα οὐχ ἧττον εἰς τὰ κάτω τὴν
€ \ \
ὁρμὴν ἔχει Kal τὴν δύναμιν: μάλιστα δὲ TO
>
κύπειρον, ὥσπερ Kal ἡ ἄγρωστις, Ot ὃ Kal δυσώ-
lal ο 7 ‘ / \ lal
λεθρα καὶ ταῦτα Kal ὅλως ἅπαν TO γένος TO τοιοῦ-
ς Nef a / fi la) yA
Tov. ἡ δὲ pila τοῦ κυπείρου πολύ TL TOV ἄλλων
παραλλάττει τῇ ἀνωμαλίᾳ, τῷ τὸ μὲν εἶναι παχύ
\ a heade \ \ \ \ =
TL Kal σαρκῶδες αὐτῆς TO δὲ λεπτὸν Kal ξυλῶδες:
a re fal , /
καὶ τῇ βλαστήσει καὶ TH γενέσει" φύεται yap
a , id \
ἀπὸ τοῦ πρεμνώδους ἑτέρα λεπτὴ KATA πλάγιον,
/ lal
εἶτ᾽ ἐν ταύτῃ συνίσταται πάλιν TO σαρκῶδες, ἐν ᾧ
Ν > ’ φ «ς , ,
καὶ ὁ βλαστὸς ἀφ᾽ οὗ ὁ καυλός: ἀφίησι δὲ καὶ
> f Ν rN ’ Ἐν ὃ ra \ /
εἰς βάθος τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ῥίζας, δι᾿ ὃ Kal πάντων
/ / eee > a
μάλιστα δυσώλεθρον καὶ ἔργον ἐξελεῖν.
\ x , / ες» 2
(Σχεδὸν δὲ παραπλησίως φύεται ἡ ἄγρωστις ἐκ
al \ f
τῶν γονάτων" αἱ yap ῥίζαι γονατώδεις, ἐξ ἑκά-
’ > fg ” \ \ /
στου © ἀφίησιν ἄνω βλαστὸν καὶ κάτωθεν
cs e id δὲ Ἂ « » θ € > /
pilav. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ ἄκανθα ἡ axavedns,
, \ /
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ καλαμώδης οὐδὲ γονατώδης ἡ pila ταύ-
1 κονίας : 2 κονιάσεις (plastering), a conjecture mentioned
by Sch.
304
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 4-6
and it is used as a soap-powder.! It is something
like a cake, soft and reddish. Moreover the ‘ female’
plant both of phleos and sedge is barren, but useful
for basket-work,? while the ‘male’ is useless.
Duckweed ‘moon-flower’ and marestail require
further investigation.
Most peculiar of these plants is the bulrush, both
in being leafless and in not having so many roots as
the others; for the others tend downwards quite as
much as upwards, and shew their strength in that
direction; and especially is this true of galingale, and
also of dog’s-tooth grass; wherefore these plants
too and all others like them are hard to destroy.
The root of galingale exceeds all the others in the
diversity of characters which it shews, in that part
of it is stout and fleshy, part slender and woody.
So also is this plant peculiar in its way of shooting
and originating; for from the trunk-like stock ὅ
grows another slender root* sideways, and on this
again forms the fleshy part which contains the shoot
from which the stalk springs.° In like manner it
also sends out roots downwards; wherefore of all
plants it is hardest to kill, and troublesome to get
rid of.
(Dog’s-tooth grass grows in almost the same way
from the joints; for the roots are jointed, and from
each joint it sends a shoot upwards and a root down-
wards. The growth of the spinous plant called
corn-thistle® is similar, but it is not reedy and its
2 of. Hdt. 3. 98. 3 z.e. rhizome.
4 4.e. stolon; cf. 1. 6. 8.
5 ἀφ᾽ οὗ ὁ καυλός transposed by W.; in Ald. these words
come before ἐν 6.
6 ἡ ἀκανώδης I conj.; κεάνωνος UMV; κεάνωθος Ald.: %
κεάνωθος most edd.; ἃ omits the word.
365
THEOPHRASTUS
της. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ πλεῖον διὰ THY ὁμοιότητα
εἴρηται.)
Φύεται δ᾽ ἐν ἀμφοῖν καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ καὶ ἐν
τῷ ὕδατι ἰτέα κάλαμος, πλὴν τοῦ αὐλητικοῦ,
7 ΄ \ ΄ . \ Aloe
κύπειρον τύφη φλεὼς βούτομος" ἐν δὲ τῷ ὕδατι
μόνον σίδη. περὶ γὰρ τῆς τύφης ἀμφισβητοῦσι.
καλλίω δὲ καὶ μείζω τῶν ἐν ἀμφοῖν φυομένων
αἰεὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι γίνεσθαί φασι. φύεσθαι δ᾽
ἔνια τούτων καὶ ἐπὶ TOV πλοάώδων, οἷον τὸ κύ-
πειρον καὶ τὸ βούτομον καὶ τὸν φλεών, ὥστε πάντα
τὰ μέρη ταῦτα κατέχειν.
᾿Εδώδιμα δ᾽ ἐστὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τάδε: ἡ μὲν
σίδη καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ τὰ φύλλα τοῖς προβάτοις, ὁ
δὲ βλαστὸς τοῖς ὑσίν, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
τοῦ δὲ φλεὼ καὶ τῆς τύφης καὶ τοῦ βουτόμου τὸ
πρὸς ταῖς πὴ ἁπαλόν, ὃ μάλιστα ἐσθίει τὰ
παιδία. ῥίζα δ᾽ ἐδώδιμος ἡ τοῦ φλεὼ μόνη τοῖς
βοσκήμασιν. ὅταν δ᾽ αὐχμὸς ἡ καὶ μὴ γένηται
τὸ κατὰ κεφαλὴν ὕδωρ, ὁ ἅπαντα αὐχμεῖ τὰ ἐν τῇ
λίμνῃ, μάλιστα δὲ ὁ κάλαμος, ὑπὲρ οὗ καὶ λοιπὸν
εἰπεῖν: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων σχεδὸν εἴρηται.
XI. Tod δὴ καλάμου δύο φασὶν εἶναι γένη, τόν
Te αὐλητικὸν καὶ τὸν ἕτερον" ν γὰρ εἶναι τὸ
γένος τοῦ ἑτέρου, διαφέρειν δὲ ἀλλήλων ἰσχύϊ
«καὶ παχύτητι;» καὶ λεπτότητι καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ:
καλοῦσι δὲ τὸν μὲν ἰσχυρὸν καὶ παχὺν χαρακίαν
τὸν δ᾽ ἕτερον πλόκιμον: καὶ φύεσθαι τὸν μὲν
12,6. we have gone beyond the list of typical plants of
Orchomenus given 4. 10.1, because we have found others of
which much the same may be said.
cf. 4. 10. 2.
3 αὐτὴ : cf. 4. 10, Sn.
366
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 6-x1.1
root is not jointed. We have enlarged on these
matters ! because of the resemblance.)
The willow and the reed (not however the reed
used for pipes) galingale bulrush phileos sedge
grow both on land and in the water, water-lily only
in the water. (As to bulrush indeed there is a
difference of opinion.) However they say that those
plants which grow in the water are always finer and
larger than those that grow in both positions; also
that some of these plants grow also on the floating
islands,’ for instance galingale sedge and _ phleos ;
thus all parts of the lake contain these plants.
Of the plants of the lake the parts good for food
are as follows: of the water-lily both the flower? and
the leaves are good for sheep, the young shoots for
pigs, and the fruit for men. Of phleos galingale
and sedge the part next the roots is tender, and is
mostly eaten by children. The root of phleos is the
only part which is edible by cattle. When there is
a drought and there is no water from overhead,‘ all
the plants of the lake are dried up, but especially
the reed; of this it remains to speak, since we have
said almost enough about the rest.
XI. 5 Of the reed there are said to be two kinds,
the one used for making pipes and the other kind.
For that of the latter there is only one kind, though
individual plants differ in being strong and stout,° or
on the other hand slender and weak. ‘The strong
stout one they call the ‘stake-reed, the other the
‘weaving reed.’ The latter they say grows on the
4 κεφαλὴν UMVAId.; for the case cf. Xen. Hell. 7. 2. 8
and 11 ; κεφαλῆς conj. W.
δ᾽ Plin. 16. 168 and 169.
6 καὶ παχύτητι add. Dalec. from (ὦ,
367
to
THEOPHRASTUS
πλόκιμον ἐπὶ τῶν πλοάδων τὸν δὲ χαρακίαν ἐπὶ
τοῖς κώμυσι' κώμυθας δὲ καλοῦσι οὗ ἂν ἡ συν-
ηθροισμένος κάλαμος καὶ συμπεπλεγμένος, ταῖς
ῥίξαις: τοῦτο δὲ γίνεται καθ᾽ ods ἂν τόπους
τῆς λιμνης εὔγειον ἢ χωρίον: γίνεσθαι δέ ποτε
τὸν χαρακίαν καὶ οὗ ὁ αὐλητικός, μακρότερον
μὲν τοῦ ἄλλου χαρακίου σκωληκόβρωτον δέ.
τούτου μὲν οὖν ταύτας λέγουσι τὰς διαφοράς.
Περὶ δὲ τοῦ αὐλητικοῦ τὸ μὲν φύεσθαι δι᾽ ἐν-
νεατηρίδος, ὥσπερ τινές φασι, καὶ ταύτην εἶναι
τὴν τάξιν οὐκ ἀληθές, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ὅλον αὐξη.-
θείσης γίνεται τῆς λίμνης" ὅτι δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἐδόκει
συμβαίνειν ἐν τοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις μάλιστα δι᾽
ἐννεατηρίδος, καὶ τὴν γένεσιν τοῦ καλάμου ταύ-
τὴν ἐποίουν τὸ συμβεβηκὸς ὡς τάξιν λαμβάνον-
τες. γίνεται δὲ ὅταν ἐπομβρίας γενομένης ἐμμένῃ
τὸ ὕδωρ δύ᾽ ἔτη τοὐλάχιστον, ἂν δὲ πλείω καὶ
καλλίων: τούτου δὲ μάλιστα μνημονεύουσι γεγον-
oTos τῶν ὕστερον χρόνων ὅτε συνέβη τὰ περὶ
Χαιρώνειαν: πρὸ τούτων γὰρ ἔφασαν ἔτη πλείω
βαθυνθῆναι τὴν λίμνην: μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ὕστερον,
ὡς ὁ λοιμὸς ἐγένετο σφοδρός, πλησθῆναι μὲν
αὐτήν, οὐ μείναντος δὲ τοῦ ὕδατος ἀλλ᾽ ἐκλιπόν-
τος χειμῶνος οὐ γενέσθαι τὸν κάλαμον' φασὶ γὰρ
καὶ δοκεῖ βαθυνομένης τῆς λίμνης αὐξάνεσθαι
τὸν κάλαμον εἰς μῆκος, μείναντα δὲ τὸν ἐπιόντα
ἐνιαυτὸν ἁδρύνεσθαι" καὶ γίνεσθαι τὸν μὲν ἁδρυ-
θέντα ζευγίτην, ᾧ & ἂν μὴ συμπαραμείνῃ τὸ
1 κώμυσι: lit “ bundles.’
2 δυ᾽ ἔτη conj. W.; διετῆ UM VAI.
SRO. San:
368
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 1-3
floating islands, the stout form in the ‘ reed-beds’!;
this name they give to the places where there is a
thick mass of reed with its roots entangled together.
This occurs in any part of the lake where there is
rich soil. It is said that the ‘stake-reed’ is also
sometimes found in the same places as the reed used
for pipes, in which places it is longer than the ‘stake-
reed’ found elsewhere, but gets worm-eaten. These
then are the differences in reeds of which they tell.
As to the reed used for pipes, it is not true, as some
say, that it only grows once in nine years and that
this is its regular rule of growth; it grows in general
whenever the lake is full: but, because in former
days this was supposed to happen generally once in
nine years, they made the growth of the reed to
correspond, taking what was really an accident to be
a regular principle. As a matter of fact it grows
whenever after a rainy season the water remains in
the lake for at least two years,? and it is finer if the
water remains longer; this is specially remembered
to have happened in recent times at the time of the
battle of Chaeronea. For before that period they
told me that the lake was for several years deep;
and, at a time later than that, when there was a
severe visitation of the plague, it filled up; but, as
the water did not remain but failed in winter, the
reed did not grow; for they say, apparently with
good reason, that, when the lake is deep, the reed
increases in height, and, persisting for the next year,
matures its growth; and that the reed which thus
inatures is suitable for making a reed mouthpiece,°
while that for which the water has not remained is
4 ἔτη πλείω conj. Scal. from G ; ἔτι πλείω UMYV; ἔτι πλεῖον
Ald.
δ See n. on τὸ στόμα τῶν γλωττῶν, § 4,
369
THEOPHRASTUS
“ / \ \ 9S / “|
ὕδωρ βομβυκίαν. τὴν μὲν οὖν γένεσιν εἶναι
τοιαύτην.
a to
Διαφέρειν δὲ τῶν ἄλλων καλάμων ὡς καθ᾽ ὅλου
a > / \ an ΄ ᾽ hf
λαβεῖν εὐτροφίᾳ τινὶ τῆς φύσεως: εὐπληθέστερον
\ LJ \ > / \ “ \ lal a
yap εἶναι Kal εὐσαρκότερον καὶ ὅλως δὲ θῆλυν TH
/ \ /
προσόψει. καὶ yap TO φύλλον πλατύτερον ἔχειν
\ Ls \ \ ’ / ᾽ / a
καὶ λευκότερον τὴν δὲ ἀνθήλην ἐλάττω τῶν
bY \ Ny (αν > 7 ἃ νὴ
ἄλλων, τινὰς δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔχειν, OVS καὶ προσ-
αγορεύουσιν εὐνουχίας" ἐξ ὧν ἄριστα μέν φασί
“ \ / n \ ? 7
τινες γίνεσθαι τὰ ζεύγη, κατορθοῦν δὲ ὀλίγα
\ ,
παρὰ τὴν ἐργασίαν.
\ \ \ e / Ὁ Ν > /
Τὴν δὲ τομὴν ὡραίαν εἶναι πρὸ ᾿Αντιγενίδου
/ 4 (one } A > / Ὁ bis
μέν, ἡνίκ᾽ NUAOVY ἀπλάστως, UT ApKToUpoVv Bon-
an , Ν nan
δρομιῶνος μηνός" τὸν yap οὕτω τμηθέντα συχνοῖς
¢ fe
μὲν ἔτεσιν ὕστερον γίνεσθαι χρήσιμον Kal προ-
fe lal n Δ AN \
καταυλήσεως δεῖσθαι πολλῆς, συμμύειν δὲ TO
a a ὃ Ν \
στόμα TOV γλωττῶν, ὃ πρὸς τὴν διακτηρίαν εἶναι
\
χρήσιμον. ἐπεὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν πλάσιν μετέβησαν, Kal
i? / Ν -“ rn
ἡ τομὴ μετεκινήθη: τέμνουσι yap δὴ νῦν TOD
“ ERA < lal /
Σκιρροφοριῶνος καὶ “ExatouBarwvos ὥσπερ πρὸ
an \ > \ ’ /
τροπῶν μικρὸν ἢ ὑπὸ τροπάς. γίνεσθαι δέ φασι
/ V4
τρίενόν TE χρήσιμον καὶ καταυλήσεως βραχείας
1 βομβυκίαν. In one kind of pipe the performer blew, not
directly on to the ‘reed,’ but into a cap in which it was
enclosed; this cap, from the resemblance in shape to a
cocoon, was called βόμβυξ.
2 εἶναι add. W.
3 Plin. 16. 169-172. 4 September.
5 i.e. between the free end of the vibrating ‘tongue’ and
379
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 3-5
suitable for making a ‘cap.’! Such then, it is said,
is ? the reed’s way of growth.
? Also it is said to differ from other reeds, to speak
generally, in a certain luxuriance of growth, being of
a fuller and more fleshy character, and, one may say,
‘female’ in appearance. For it is said that even the
leaf is broader and whiter, though the plume is
smaller than that of other reeds, and some have no
plume at all; these they call ‘ eunuch-reeds.’ From
these they say that the best mouthpieces are made,
though many are spoiled in the making.
Till the time of Antigenidas, before which men
played the pipe in the simple style, they say that
the proper season for cutting the reeds was the
month Boédromion * about the rising of Arcturus ;
for, although the reed so cut did not become fit for
use for many years after and needed a great deal of
preliminary playing upon, yet the opening ® of the
reed-tongues is well closed, which isa good thing for
the purpose of accompaniment.® But when a change
was made to the more elaborate style of playing, the
time of cutting the reeds was also altered; for in
our own time they cut them in the months Skirro-
phorion’ or Hekatombaion ὃ about the solstice ora
little earlier.2 And they say that the reed becomes
fit for use in three years and needs but little
preliminary playing upon, and that the reed-tongues
the bedy or ‘lay’ of the reed mouthpiece: the instrument
implied throughout is apparently one with a single vibrating
‘tongue’ (reed) like the modern clarinet.
ὁ διακτηρίαν UMV; διακτορίαν Ald. πρὸς τὸ ἀκροατήριον,
‘for the concert-room’; quod erat tllis theatrorum moribus
utilius Plin. d.c.
7 June. 8 July.
% ὥσπερ con). W.; ὡσπερεὶ UH.; ὡς περὶ MVAId.
371
THEOPHRASTUS
nr \ ,
δεῖσθαι Kal κατασπάσματα τὰς γλώττας ἴσχειν"
a lal a \
τοῦτο δὲ ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς μετὰ πλάσματος αὐ-
fal na ’ ΜΡ
λοῦσι. τοῦ μὲν οὖν ζευγίτου ταύτας εἶναι τὰς
“ a an
ὥρας τῆς τομῆς.
«ς ΟΝ / (6 a \ ’ «
Η δ᾽ ἐργασία γίνεται τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον' ὅταν
/ / € / a an ᾽
συλλέξωσι τιθέασιν ὑπαίθριον τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐν
a he a > > / \
TO λέμματι' τοῦ δ᾽ ἦρος περικαθάραντες καὶ
, ὔ ᾽ \ / » a / \
ἐκτρίψαντες εἰς TOV ἥλιον ἔθεσαν. τοῦ θέρους δὲ
lal , \
μετὰ ταῦτα συντεμόντες εἰς TA μεσογονάτια πάλιν
“ ta /
ὑπαίθριον τιθέασι χρόνον τινά. προσλείπουσι
Η͂ a , \ \ \ \ ,
δὲ τῴ μεσογονατίῳ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς βλαστοὺς γόνυ
\ J / > /,
τὰ δὲ μήκη TA τούτων οὐ γίνεται διπαλαίστων
\ 3 a
ἐλάττω. βέλτιστα μὲν οὖν εἶναι τῶν μεσογονα-
\ oh ty a
τίων πρὸς τὴν ζευγοποιΐαν ὅλου τοῦ καλάμου τὰ
re
μέσα: μαλακώτατα δὲ ἴσχειν ζεύγη τὰ πρὸς τοὺς
N \ na 7ὔ
βλαστούς, σκληρότατα δὲ τὰ πρὸς τῇ ῥίζῃ" συμ-
φωνεῖν δὲ τὰς γλώττας τὰς ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μεσογο-
’ \ \ ” > al \ ‘ \
vatiov, Tas δὲ ἄλλας οὐ συμφωνεῖν: Kal THY μὲν
An \ 7 \
πρὸς τῇ pln ἀριστερὰν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς
\ / / \ / n
βλαστοὺς δεξιάν. τμηθέντος δὲ δίχα τοῦ μεσο-
Ν ’ an / / /
γονατίου TO στόμα τῆς γλώττης ἑκατέρας yive-
\ \ a“ ΄, 7 5. δὲ ”
σθαι κατὰ THY τοῦ καλάμου τομὴν' ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλον
τρόπον ἐργασθῶσιν αἱ γλῶτται, ταύτας οὐ πάνυ
a > ,
συμφωνεῖν' ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐργασία τοιαύτη.
1 κατασπᾶσματα : lit. ‘convulsions’; 1.6. the strong vibra-
tions of a ‘tongue,’ the free end of which is kept away from
the body or ‘lay’ of the mouthpiece. Such a ‘reed’ would
have the effect of giving to the pipes a fuller and louder tone.
2 7.e. so as to make a closed end.
372
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xr. 5-7
have ample vibration,! which is essential for those
who play in the elaborate style. Such, they tell us,
are the proper seasons for cutting the reed used for
the reed moathpiece.
The manufacture is carried out in the following
manner. Having collected the reed-stems they lay
them in the open air during the winter, leaving on
the rind; in the spring they strip this off, and,
having rubbed the reeds thoroughly, put them in
the sun. Later on, in the summer, they cut the
sections from knot to knot into lengths and again
put them for some time in the open air. They
leave the upper knot on this internodal section ?;
and the lengths thus obtained are not less than two
palmsbreadths long. Now they say that for making
mouthpieces the best lengths are those of the middle
of the reed, whereas the lengths towards the upper
growths make very soft mouthpieces and those next
to the root very hard ones. They say too that the
reed-tongues made out of the same length are of the
same quality, while those made from different lengths
are not; also that the one from the length next to
the root forms a left-hand? reed-tongue, and that
from the length towards the upper growths a right-
hand? reed-tongue. Moreover, when the length is
slit, the opening of the reed-tongues in either case
is made towards the point at which the reed was
cut‘; and, if the reed-tongues are made in any other
manner, they are not quite of the same quality. Such
then is the method of manufacture.
3.26. the vibrating ‘tongues’ (reeds) for the left-hand
and the right-hand pipe of the Double Pipe respectively.
42,6. not at the closed end, but at the end which was
‘lower’ when the cane was growing: cf. §6, προσλείπουσι δὲ
& ρ
κ.τ.λ.
313
8
10
THEOPHRASTUS
Φύεται δὲ πλεῖστος μὲν μεταξὺ τοῦ Κηφισοῦ
καὶ τοῦ Μέλανος: οὗτος δὲ ὁ τόπος προσαγο-
ρεύεται μὲν Πελεκανία: τούτου δ᾽ ἔστιν ἄττα
ray x Vs / fal 7 > a
Χύτροι καλούμενοι βαθύσματα τῆς λίμνης, ἐν ols
κάλλιστόν φασι γίνεσθαι" «γίνεσθαι: δὲ καὶ καθ᾽
ἃ ς / / / “ ’
ὃ ἡ Προβατία καλουμένη καταφέρεται" τοῦτο ὃ
? \ \ cs > , / \
ἐστὶ ποταμὸς ῥέων ἐκ Λεβαδείας. κάλλιστος δὲ
a > an
δοκεῖ πάντων γίνεσθαι περὶ τὴν ᾿Οξεῖαν καλου-
/ / ς \ / Φ tf > ᾿] \
μένην Καμπήν' ὁ δὲ τόπος οὗτός ἐστιν ἐμβολὴ
a nA “ fal / »
τοῦ Κηφισοῦ. γειτνιᾷ δ᾽ αὐτῷ πεδίον εὔγειον, ὃ
προσαγορεύουσι Ἱππίαν. πρόσβορρος δὲ τόπος
” a ’ / a a ’ ἃ a
ἄλλος τῆς Oketas Καμπῆς ἐστιν, ὃν καλοῦσι
Βοηδρίαν: φύεσθαι δέ φασι καὶ κατὰ ταύτην
᾽ an \ / \ Nu fe or OK δ /
εὐγενῆ τὸν κάλαμον. TO δὲ ὅλον, οὗ av ἡ βαθύ-
γείον καὶ εὔγειον χωρίον καὶ ἰλυῶδες καὶ ὁ
Κηφισὸς ἀναμίσγεται καὶ πρὸς τούτοις βάθυσμα
τῆς λίμνης, κάλλιστον γίνεσθαι κάλαμον. περὶ
γὰρ τὴν ᾿Ὀξεῖαν Καμπὴν καὶ τὴν Βοηδρίαν πάντα
ταῦτα ὑπάρχειν. ὅτι δὲ ὁ Κηφισὸς μεγάλην ἔχει
ῥοπὴν εἰς τὸ ποιεῖν καλὸν τὸν κάλαμον σημεῖον
ἔχουσι" καθ᾽ ὃν γὰρ τόπον ὁ Μέλας καλούμενος
ἐμβάλλει βαθείας οὔσης τῆς λίμνης καὶ τοῦ
ἐδάφους εὐγείου καὶ ἰλυώδους, ἢ ὅλως μὴ γίνεσθαι
φαῦλον. ἡ μὲν οὖν γένεσις καὶ φύσις τοῦ
αὐλητικοῦ καὶ ἡ κατεργασία καὶ τίνας ἔχει δια-
φορὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἱκανῶς εἰρήσθω.
Γένη δὲ οὐ ταῦτα μόνον ἀλλὰ πλείω τοῦ καλά-
μου τυγχάνει φανερὰς ἔχοντα τῇ αἰσθήσει δια-
\
φοράς: ὁ μὲν yap πυκνὸς Kal TH σαρκὶ καὶ τοῖς
1 of. Plut. Sulla, 20.
2 2,6. the so-called ‘ Lake ’ Copais.
3 καὶ add. W.
374
ENQUIRY INTO: PLANTS, IV. xr. ὃ τὸ
This reed grows in greatest abundance between
the Kephisos and the Black River!; this district is
called Pelekania, and in it are certain ‘ pots,’ as they
are called, which are deep holes in the marsh,? and
in these holes they say that it grows fairest ; it is also 3
said to be found 4 where the river called the ‘Sheep
River’ comes down, which is a stream that flows from
Lebadeia. But it appears to grow fairest of all near
‘the Sharp Bend’; this place is the mouth of the
Kephisos ; near it is a rich plain called Hippias.
There is another region north of the Sharp Bend
called Boedrias ; and here too they say that the reed
grows fine, and in general that it is fairest wherever
there is a piece of land with deep rich alluvial soil,
where also Kephisos mingles® his waters with the
soil, and where there is further a deep hole in the
marsh ; for that about the Sharp Bend and Boedrias
all these conditions are found. As proof that the
Kephisos has a great effect in producing the reed of
good quality they have the fact that, where the river
called the ‘ Black River’ flows into the marsh, though
the marsh is there deep and the bottom of good
alluvial soil, it either does not grow at all or at best
but of poor quality. Let this suffice for an account
of the growth and character of the reed used for
pipes, of the manufacture, and of its distinctive
features as compared with other reeds.
But these are not the only kinds of reed ; there are
several others ἡ with distinctive characters which are
easily recognised; there is one that is of compact
growth in flesh and has its joints close together ;
4 γίνεσθαι add. Sch.; φασι: γίνεσθαι δὲ καθ᾽ ὃ UMVP; so
Ald., but καθ᾽ ὃν.
5 ἀναμίσγεται : ? ἀναμίσγηται ; cf. Plut. Sull. lc.
6 Plin. 16. 164-167 ; Diosce. 1. 85.
375
11
12
THEOPHRASTUS
4 « \ \ \ ? ld ae \
γόνασιν, ὁ δὲ μανὸς Kal ὀλιγογόνατος" καὶ ὁ Mer’
a a / \ e
κοῖλος, ὃν καλοῦσί τινες συρυγγίαν, οὐδὲν γὰρ ὡς
εἰπεῖν ἔχει ξύλου καὶ σαρκός: ὁ δὲ στερεὸς καὶ
al e ς
συμπλήρης μικροῦ. καὶ ὁ μὲν βραχύς, ὁ δὲ
> \ bagi = \ \ 4 ς \ \ \
εὐαυξὴς Kal ὑψηλὸς Kal παχύς. ὁ δὲ λεπτὸς καὶ
/
πολύφυλλος, ὁ δὲ ὀλιγόφυλλος Kal μονόφυλλος.
ὅλως δὲ πολλαί τινές εἰσι διαφοραὶ κατὰ τὰς
X
χρείας" ἕκαστος yap πρὸς ἕκαστα χρήσιμος.
Ὀνόμασι δὲ ἄλλοι ἄλλοις προσαγορεύουσι:
/ / ig / Δ \ / ,
κοινότατον 6€ Tws ὁ Sovak, ὃν καὶ λοχμωδέστατόν
/ 5 \ / ’, \ Ν
γέ φασιν εἶναι καὶ μάλιστα φύεσθαι παρὰ τοὺς
\ \ \ / / 2 “
ποταμοὺς καὶ τὰς λίμνας. διαφέρειν δ᾽ ὅμως
/ a an
παντὸς καλάμου TOAD τόν τε ἐν TO ξηρῷ καὶ Tov
> a “ / yy \ \ id ’ ἃ
ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι φυόμενον. ἴδιος δὲ καὶ ὁ τοξικός, ὃν
δὴ Κρητικόν τινες καλοῦσιν: ὀλυγογόνατος μὲν
/ \ 4 \ / 7
σαρκωδέστερος δὲ πάντων καὶ μάλιστα κάμψιν
δεχόμενος, και ὅλως ἄγεσθαι δυνάμενος ὡς ἂν
θέλῃ τις θερμαινόμενος.
/ \
Ἔχουσι δέ, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, καὶ κατὰ τὰ φύλλα
jd A > ΄ \ / ,
μεγάλας διαφορὰς οὐ πλήθει καὶ μεγέθει μόνον
᾽ \ \ a , \ € \
ἀλλὰ Kal χροιᾷ. ποικίλος yap ὁ Λακωνικὸς
/ ” δὲ a θέ \ /
καλούμενος. ἔτι ὃὲ TH θέσει Kal προσφύσει'"
κάτωθεν γὰρ ἔνιοι πλεῖστα φέρουσι τῶν φύλλων,
> \ \ “ > / LA \ 7
αὐτὸς δὲ ὥσπερ ἐκ θάμνου πέφυκε. σχεδὸν δέ
τινές φασι καὶ τῶν λιμναίων ταύτην εἶναι τὴν
/
διαφοράν, TO πολύφυλλον Kal παρόμοιον ἔχειν
΄ a lal
TpoTov τινὰ TO φύλλον τῷ τοῦ κυπείρου καὶ
376
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 10-12
another that is of open growth, with few joints;
there is the hollow reed called by some the ‘tube-
reed, } inasmuch as it has hardly any wood or
flesh; there is another which is solid and almost
entirely filled with substance ; there is another which
is short, and another which is of strong growth tall
and stout; there is one which is slender and has
many leaves, another which has few leaves or only
one. And in general there are many differences in
natural character and in usefulness, each kind being
useful for some particular purpose.
Some distinguish the various kinds by different
names ; commonest perhaps is the pole-reed, which is
said to be of very bushy habit, and to grow chiefly
by rivers and lakes. And it is said that there is a
wide difference in reeds in general between those
that grow on dry land and those that grow in the
water. Quite distinct again is the ‘archer’s’ reed,
which some call the ‘Cretan’: this has few joints
and is fleshier than any of the others; it can also be
most freely bent, and in general, when warmed, may
be turned about as one pleases.
The various kinds have also, as was said, great
differences in the leaves, not only in number and
size, but also in colour. That called the ‘ Laconian’
reed is parti-coloured. They also differ in the
position and attachment of the leaves; some have
most of their leaves low down, and the reed itself
grows out of a sort of a bush. Indeed some say that
this may be taken as the distinctive character of
those which grow in lakes, namely, that these
have many leaves, and that their foliage in a manner
1 συριγγίαν conj. Sch. from Plin. l.c., syringiam ; ef. Diosc.
ἰ.6., Geop. 2. 6. 23. συριγί U; σύριγγι MV; σύριγγα Ald. H.
377
13
THEOPHRASTUS
φλεὼ καὶ Opvov καὶ βουτόμου' σκέψασθαι δὲ
δεῖ τοῦτο.
/
Γένος δέ τι καλάμου φύεται καὶ ἐπίγειον, ὃ οὐκ
> ’ \ τ > 3, \ fol 2! / \ / “
εἰς ὀρθὸν ἀλλ ἐπὶ γῆς ἀφίησι τὸν καυλόν, ὥσπερ
¢ a \
ἡ ἄγρωστις, Kal οὕτως ποιεῖται τὴν αὔξησιν.
, / -
ἔστι δὲ ὁ μὲν ἄρρην στερεός, καλεῖται δὲ ὑπό
τινων εἰλετίας. ...
, n
ὋὉ δὲ Ἰνδικὸς ἐν μεγίστῃ διαφορᾷ καὶ ὥσπερ
¢ \ .
ἕτερον ὅλως τὸ γένος" ἔστι δὲ ὁ μὲν ἄρρην στερεός,
ὁ δὲ θῆλυς κοῖλος" διαιροῦσι γὰρ καὶ τοῦτον τῷ
A \ / f > ’ ΒΩ By /
ἄρρενι καὶ θήλει. φύονται δ᾽ ἐξ ἑνὸς πυθμένος
\
πολλοὶ Kal οὐ λοχμώδεις" TO δὲ φύλλον οὐ μακ-
\ > >} Ὡ “ 3 r \ ,ὔ /
pov ἀλλ᾽ ὅμοιον τῇ ἐτεᾳ' τῷ δὲ μεγέθει μεγάλοι
ral lA / a
Kal εὐπαγεῖς, ὥστε ἀκοντίοις χρῆσθαι. φύονται
> / / ¢
δὲ οὗτοι περὶ τὸν ᾿Ακεσίνην ποταμόν. ἅπας δὲ
» /
κάλαμος εὔζωος Kal τεμνόμενος Kal ἐπικαιόμενος
/
καλλίων βλαστάνει" ἔτι δὲ παχύρριζος Kal πο-
ὃ /
λύρριζος, δι’ ὃ Kal δυσώλεθρος. ἡ δὲ ῥίζα yova-
a /
TWONS, ὥσπερ ἡ τῆς ἀγρωστίδος, πλὴν οὐ παντὸς
« if > \ \ \ /, 8 “ >’ /
ὁμοίως. ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν καλάμων ἱκανῶς εἰρήσθω.
a Ἀ A
XII. Κατάλοιπον δὲ εἰπεῖν ὡσὰν ἐκ τοῦ γένους
/, \ “ lal
τούτου περὶ σχοίνου: καὶ γὰρ Kal τοῦτο τῶν
eed , ” \ 5, a / "» ΄
ἐνύδρων θετέον. ἔστι δὲ αὐτοῦ τρία εἴδη, καθάπερ
“- > A
τινὲς διαιροῦσιν, 6 τε ὀξὺς Kal ἄκαρπος, ὃν δὴ
a AS ἃ
καλοῦσιν ἄρρενα, καὶ ὁ κάρπιμος, ὃν μελαγκρανὶν
1 θρύον, a kind of grass (see Index; cf. Hom. Jl. 21. 351),
conj. Sch.; βρύον MSS. ; however Plut. Nat. Quaest. 2 gives
βρύον along with τύφη and φλεώς in a list of marsh plants.
2 δὲ δεῖ τοῦτο conj. W.; δὲ τοῦτο UM V Ald.
378
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 12-xu. 1
resembles that of galingale phleos thryon} and sedge ;
but this needs? further enquiry.
There is also a kind of reed (bush-grass) which
grows on land, and which is not erect, but sends out
its stem over the ground, like the dog’s-tooth grass,
and so makes its growth. The ‘male’ reed is solid:
some, call it ezletias. .. <.. ᾿
The Indian reed (bamboo) is very distinct, and
as it were a totally different kind; the ‘male’ is
solid and the ‘female’ hollow (for in this kind too
they distinguish a ‘male’ and a ‘female’ form); a
number of reeds of this kind grow from one base and
they do not form a bush; the leaf is not long, but
resembles the willow leaf; these reeds are of great
size and of good substance, so that they are used for
javelins. They grow by the river Akesines.* All
reeds are tenacious of life, and, if cut or burnt down,
grow up again more vigorously; also their roots are
stout and numerous, so that the plant is hard to
destroy. The root is jointed, like that of the dog’s-
tooth grass, but this is not equally so in all kinds.
However let this suffice for an account of reeds.
Of rushes.
XII. It remains to speak of the rush,°® as though
it belonged to this class of plants, inasmuch as we
must reckon this also among water plants. Of this
there are three kinds® as some distinguish, the
‘sharp’ rush, which is barren and is called the
‘male’; the ‘fruiting’ kind which we call the “ black-
3 Sch. marks a lacuna; there is nothing to correspond to
ὁ Hey ale 4 Chenab.
ΕΠ la suis Εἰ ΦῚ- LISS Diose. ἤν δῶν
ω Bee Index,
379
THEOPHRASTUS
καλοῦμεν διὰ TO μέλανα τὸν καρπὸν ἔχειν, παχύ-
τερος δὲ οὗτος καὶ σαρκωδέστερος' καὶ τρίτος τῷ
μεγέθει καὶ τῇ παχύτητι καὶ εὐσαρκίᾳ διαφέρων
ὁ καλούμενος ὁλόσχοινος.
Ἡ μὲν οὖν μελαγκρανὶς αὐτός τις καθ᾽ αὑτόν" ὁ
᾿ ὀξὺς καὶ ὁλόσχοινος ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φύονται" ὃ
καὶ ἄτοπον φαίνεται, καὶ θαυμαστόν γ᾽ ἣν ἰδεῖν
ὅλης κομισθείσης τῆς σχοινιᾶς: οἱ πολλοὶ γὰρ
ἦσαν ἄκαρποι πεφυκότες ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ, κάρπιμοι
δὲ ὀλίγοι. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐπίσκεπτέον. ἐλάτ-
τους δὲ ὅλως οἱ -κάρπιμοι: πρὸς γὰρ τὰ πλέγματα
χρησιμώτερος ὁ ὁλόσχοινος διὰ τὸ σαρκῶδες καὶ
μαλακόν. κορυνᾷ δ᾽ ὅλως ὁ κάρπιεμος ἐξ αὐτοῦ
τοῦ ραμμώδους ἐξοιδήσας, κἄπειτα ἐκτίκτει
καθάπερ ὠά. πρὸς μιᾷ γὰρ ἀρχῇ γραμμώδει
ἔχει τοὺς περισταχυώδεις μίσχους, ἐφ᾽ ὧν ἄκρων
παραπλαγίους τὰς τῶν ἀγγείων ἔχει στρογγυλό-
τητας ὑποχασκούσας: ἐν τούτοις δὲ τὸ σπερμά-
τίον ἀκιδῶδές ἐστι μέλαν ἑκάστῳ προσεμφερὲς
τῷ τοῦ ἀστερίσκου πλὴν ἀμενηνότερον. ῥίξαν δὲ
ἔχει μακρὰν καὶ παχυτέραν πολὺ τοῦ σχοίνου'
αὕτη δ᾽ αὐαίνεται καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτόν, εἶθ᾽
ἑτέρα πάλιν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ σχοίνου καθίε-
ται" τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὄψει φανερὸν ἰδεῖν τὰς
μὲν αὔας τὰς δὲ χλωρὰς καθιεμένας" ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ
ὁμοία τῇ τῶν κρομύων καὶ τῇ τῶν γητείων, συμ-
1 9, γ᾽ ἣν ἰδεῖν conj. W. from G; θ. ἐν γ᾽ εἱδεῖν Ὁ ; 9. ἔν γε
ἰδεῖν MVP; 9. ἐνιδεῖν Ald.
2 οἱ κάρπιμοι conj. R. Const.; οἱ καρποί Ald. Η,
3 yap seems meaningless ; G has autem.
4 xopovg ; α΄. 3. 5. 1.
5 γραμμώδει conj. R, Const.; γραμμώδεις Ald. H.
380
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xu. 1-3
head’ because it has black fruit; this is stouter and
fleshier: and third the ‘entire rush,’ as it is called,
which is distinguished by its size stoutness and
fleshiness.
Now the ‘black-head’ grows by itself, but the
‘sharp’ rush and the ‘entire’ rush grow from the
same stock, which seems extraordinary, and indeed
it was strange to see it! when the whole clump of
rushes was brought before me; for from the same
stock there were growing ‘barren’ rushes, which
were the most numerous, and also a few ‘fruiting’
ones. This then is a matter for further enquiry.
The ‘fruiting’ 2 ones are in general scarcer, for® the
‘entire rush’ is more useful for wicker-work because
of its fleshiness and pliancy. The ‘fruiting’ rush in
general produces a club-like* head which swells
straight from the wiry stem, and then bears egg-like
bodies ; for attached to a single wiry ὅ base it has its
very spike-like® branches all round it, and on the
ends of these it has its round vessels borne laterally
and gaping’; in each of these is the small seed,
which is pointed and black, and like that of the
Michaelmas daisy, except that it is less solid. It
has a long root, which is stouter than that of the
ordinary rush; this withers every year, and then
another strikes down again from the ‘head’® of the
plant. And it is easy to observe that some of the
roots as they are let down are withered, some green.
The ‘head’ is like that of an onion or long onion,
6 περισταχυώδεις seems an impossible word ; ? περὶ αὑτὸν
τοὺς σταχυώδεις-.
7 ὑποχασκούσας conj. Sch.; ἐπισχαζούσας Ald. H.
8 7.e. the part above ground; cf. Plin./.c. Sch. has dis-
posed of the idea that κεφαλή is here a ‘ bulbous’ root.
381
THEOPHRASTUS
war 9 / 3 > Ἂς x lal
πεφυκυῖα πως εκ πλειόνων ELS TAUTO καὶ πλατεῖα
/ ” , ς / / ’
κάτωθεν ἔχουσα κελύφη ὑπέρυθρα. συμβαίνει ὃ
» an lal ͵7]
οὗν ἴδιον ἐπὶ τῶν ῥιζῶν εἰ αὐαίνονται κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν
lal i / a
καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄνωθεν πάλιν ἡ γένεσις. τῶν μὲν
= / - /
οὖν σχοίνων τοιαύτη TLS φύσις.
Sie ς , ,
Ei δὲ καὶ ὁ βάτος καὶ ὁ παλίουρος ἔνυδρά πώς
/ a
ἐστιν ἢ πάρυδρα, καθάπερ ἐνιαχοῦ, φανεραὶ oxe-
/ / a
Sov καὶ at τούτων διαφοραί: περὶ ἀμφοῖν yap
,
εἴρηται πρότερον.
an ral / lal na
Τῶν δὲ νήσων τῶν πλοάδων τῶν ἐν ᾿᾽Οργομενῷ
͵ , μενᾷ
\ / Ἂς \ >
Ta μὲν μεγέθη παντοδαπὰ τυγχάνει, τὰ δὲ pé-
an “ lal /
yloTa αὐτῶν ἐστιν ὅσον τριῶν σταδίων τὴν περί-
’ > / \ / / ,
μετρον. ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δὲ μάλιστα μεγάλα σφόδρα
Ud \ a a /
συνίσταται, ὥστε καὶ ὗς ἐν αὐταῖς ἐγγίνεσθαι
/ a \ a ὃ / \
πολλούς, Os καὶ κυνηγετοῦσι διαβαίνοντες.] καὶ
“οὐδ ςς /
περὶ μὲν ἐνύδρων ταῦτ᾽ εἰρήσθω.
\ ΄ a
XIII. epi δὲ βραχυβιότητος φυτῶν καὶ δέν-
a “ »Μ >
δρων τῶν ἐνύδρων ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἔχομεν ws ἂν καθ᾽
e ce / lal ,
ὅλου λέγοντες, ὅτι βραχυβιώτερα τῶν χερσαίων
\ n \ \ εξ
ἐστί, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ ζῶα. τοὺς δὲ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον
fal a lal ,
βίους ἱστορῆσαι δεῖ τῶν χερσαίων. τὰ μὲν οὖν
» / , ’ a ΑΝ
ἄγριά φασιν οὐδεμίαν ἔχειν ὡς εἰπεῖν οἱ ὀρεοτύποι
’ \ / Ss / \ b \
διαφοράν, ἀλλὰ πάντα εἶναι μακρόβια καὶ οὐθὲν
/ » NX \ “ ” > θὲ /
βραχύβιον: αὐτὸ μὲν τοῦτο ἴσως ἀληθὲς λέγον-
eC , \ \ an
TES’ ἅπαντα yap ὑπερτείνει πολὺ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων
͵ ᾽ \ 5) > ὦ ᾽ \ \ \ A \
ζωήν. ov μὴν ἀλλ ὅμως ἐστὶ τὰ μὲν μᾶλλον τὰ
“a / a
δ᾽ ἧττον μακρύβια, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἡμέροις" ποῖα
-----
1 6.15... δῆ. 4; 4. 8. ],
382
ENQUERY ΝΟ PEANTDS, ΤΥ απ 2 χα 1
being, as it were, made up of several united together.
it is broad, and underneath it has reddish scales.
Now it is a peculiar fact about the roots of this plant
that they wither every year and that the fresh
growth of roots comes from the part of the plant
which is above ground. Such is the character of
rushes.
Bramble and Christ’s thorn may be considered to
some extent plants of the water or the waterside,
as they are in some districts; but the distinctive
characters of these plants are fairly clear, for we have
spoken of both already.!
The floating islands of Orchomenos? are of various
sizes, the largest being about three furlongs in cir-
cumference. But in Egypt very large ones form, so
that even a number of boars are found in them, and
men go across to the islands to hunt them. Let
this account of water-plants suffice.
Of the length or shortness of the life of plants, and the causes.
XIII. As to the comparative shortness of life of
plants and trees of the water we may say thus much
as a general account, that, like the water-animals,
they are shorter-lived than those of the dry land.
But we must enquire into the lives of those of the
dry land severally. Now the woodmen say that
the wild kinds are almost * without exception long-
lived, and none of them is short-lived: so far they
may be speaking the truth; all such plants do live
far longer than others. However, just as in the case
of cultivated plants, some are longer-lived than others,
2 of. 4. 10. 2, to which ὃ this note perhaps belongs.
3 ὡς εἰπεῖν con]. Sch.; ὡς εἰπεῖ U:; ὡς εἴποι MV; ὡς ἂν εἴποιεν
Ald. H.
383
THEOPHRASTUS
\ a ΄ \ δὲ “ n
δὲ ταῦτα σκεπτέον. τὰ δὲ ἥμερα φανερῶς δια-
/ a Xx \ “. ,) Ν \ /
φέρει τῷ TA μὲν εἶναι μακρόβια τὰ δὲ βραχύβια:'
lal a \ » a /
ws δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν TA ἄγρια τῶν ἡμέρων μακρο-
/ \ eae “ / \ \ > /
βιώτερα καὶ ὅλως TO γένει Kal τὰ ἀντιδιῃρημένα
© / > / \ > \ /
καθ᾽ ἕκαστον, οἷον κότινος ἐλάας Kal ἀχρὰς ἀπίου
a , Ν
ἐρινεὸς συκῆς" ἰσχυρότερα γὰρ καὶ πυκνότερα
“ ’
καὶ ἀγονώτερα τοῖς περικαρπίοις.
ἴω , ,
Τὴν δὲ μακροβιότητα μαρτυροῦσιν ἐπὶ γέ τινων
/
Kal ἡμέρων καὶ ἀγρίων καὶ at παραδεδομέναι
fal lal /
φῆμαι παρὰ τῶν μυθολόγων: ἐλάαν μὲν yap
, \ ᾽ / , \ \ > ΄ὔ
λέγουσι τὴν ᾿Αθήνῃσι, φοίνικα δὲ τὸν ἐν Δήλῳ,
/ \ \ > ᾽ ’ὔ > ’ Φ e ,
κότινον δὲ τὸν ἐν ᾿Ολυμπίᾳ, ἀφ᾽ οὗ ὁ στέφανος"
\ \ \ 2 2 “ \ sea N maw /
φηγοὺς δὲ Tas ἐν ᾿Γλίῳ τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἴλου μνήμα-
\ a
τος" τινὲς δέ φασι καὶ τὴν ἐν Δελφοῖς πλάτανον
᾽ / a \ \ > K , fol
Αγαμέμνονα φυτεῦσαι καὶ τὴν ἐν Kadvais τῆς
᾿Αρκαδίας. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὅπως ἔχει τάχ᾽ ἂν
oe v , “ δέ ΕῚ 7] ὃ \
ἕτερος εἴη λόγος" OTL OE ἐστι μεγάλη διαφορὰ
lal , / \ \
τῶν δένδρων φανερόν: μακρόβια μὲν yap τά τε
, Nia ce , ΄, \ Ἢ
προειρημένα καὶ ἕτερα πλείω: βραχύβια δὲ καὶ
fal « / a
τὰ τοιαῦτα ὁμολογουμένως, οἷον pola συκῆ μηλέα,
Ἁ ca \ o lol
Kal τούτων ἡ ἠρινὴ μᾶλλον καὶ ἡ γλυκεῖα τῆς
> / σ“ a ca tee) 7 ΄
ὀξείας, ὥσπερ τῶν ῥοῶν ἡ ἀπύρηνος. βραχύβια
, \
δὲ Kal ἀμπέλων ἔνια γένη καὶ μάλιστα τὰ πολύ-
a \ \ \ ΄ ,
xaptra: δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ πάρυδρα βραχυβιώτερα
1 καὶ τὰ ἄντ. conj. W.; κατὰ ἀντ. UMV; τὰ ἀντ. ΑἸά.Η.
2 περικαρπίοις αἵ. C.P. 1. 17. 5.
3. On the Acropolis: ῳ΄. Hdt. 8. 55; Soph. O.C. 694 foll.
384
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xu. 1-2
and we must consider which these are. Cultivated
plants plainly differ as to the length of their lives,
but, to speak generally, wild plants are longer-lived
than cultivated ones, both taken as classes, and also
when one compares! the wild and cultivated forms
of particular plants: thus the wild olive pear and fig
are longer-lived than the corresponding cultivated
trees ; for the wild forms of these are stronger and of
closer growth, and they do not produce such well-
developed fruit-pulp.?
To the long-lived character of some plants, both
cultivated and wild, witness is borne also by the tales
handed down in mythology, as of the olive at Athens,*
the palm in Delos,‘ and the wild olive at Olympia,
from which the wreaths for the games are made;
or again of the Valonia oaks at Ilium, planted on the
tomb of Ilos. Again some say that Agamemnon
planted the plane at Delphi, and the one at Kaphyai ὃ
in Arcadia. Now how this is may perhaps be
another story, but anyhow it is plain that there is a
great difference between trees in this respect; the
kinds that have been mentioned, and many others
besides, are long-lived, while the following are ad-
mittedly short-lived—pomegranate fig apple: and
among apples the ‘spring’ sort and the ‘sweet’
apple are shorter-lived than the ‘sour’ apple, even
as the ‘stoneless’ pomegranate is shorter-lived than
the other kinds. Also some kinds of vine are short-
lived, especially those which bear much fruit ; and it
appears that trees which grow by water are shorter-
4 Under which Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo: ef.
Paus. 8. 48. 3; Cic. de Leg. 1.1.; Plin. 16. 238.
5 Its planting is ascribed to Menelaus by Paus. 8. 23. 3.
385
THEOPHRASTUS
a ’ - a > e ’ / , > ‘
τῶν ἐν τοῖς ξηροῖς εἶναι, οἷον ἰτέα λεύκη ἀκτὴ
αἴγειρος.
ὙΠ be Z \ ὧν / Lé
Via δὲ γηράσκει μὲν καὶ σήπεται ταχέως,
παραβλαστάνει δὲ πάλιν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ αἱ
e 12 / n
δάφναι καὶ at μηλέαι τε Kal αἱ poat Kal τῶν
/ \ / \ © \ / ἌΝ
φιλύδρων τὰ πολλά: περὶ ὧν καὶ σκέψαιτ᾽ ἄν
/ lal] δ LY
τις πότερα ταὐτὰ δεῖ λέγειν ἢ ἕτερα' καθάπερ εἴ
\ / , nr
τις TO στέλεχος ἀποκόψας, ὥσπερ ποιοῦσιν οἱ
/, / > / \ v4 a εἰ
γεωργοί, πάλιν ἀναθεραπεύοι τοὺς βλαστούς, ἢ εἰ
δ / / lal € rn
Kal ὅλως ἐκκόψειεν ἄχρι τῶν ῥιζῶν Kal ἐπικαύ-
\ \ al a Chey \ \
σειεν' καὶ yap ταῦτα ποιοῦσιν, ὁτὲ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ
ἴω / , \ la)
τοῦ αὐτομάτου συμβαίνει: πότερα δὴ τοῦτο ταὐτὸ
fal Av 6 Ν
δεῖ λέγειν ἢ ἕτερον; ἣἧ μὲν γὰρ ἀεὶ τὰ μέρη τας
> / \ / / /
αὐξήσεις καὶ φθίσεις φαίνεται παραλλάττοντα
/ Xi > an
καὶ ἔτι Tas διακαθάρσεις τὰς ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν, ταύτῃ
\ 3 , 3
μὲν ἂν δόξειε ταὐτὸν εἶναι: τί γὰρ ἂν ἐπὶ τούτων
Ry 7 / , @ ’ v4 b] / \ /
ἢ ἐκείνων διαφέροι; 7 δ᾽ ὥσπερ οὐσία καὶ φύσις
lal / ΄ +N / \ / “
τοῦ δένδρου μάλιστ᾽ ἂν φαίνοιτο τὸ στέλεχος, ὅταν
is a Ἂ \ ef “ ε 4
μεταλλάττῃ τοῦτο, κἂν TO ὅλον ἕτερον ὑπολάβοι
\ 7 \ \ \ la) lal a
τις, εἰ μὴ ἄρα Sia TO ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀρχῶν εἶναι
ὙΠ) / ,ὔ ΄ , \ \
ταὐτὸ θείη: καΐτοι πολλάκις συμβαίνει καὶ τὰς
/ νὰ x a Ν
ῥίζας ἑτέρας εἶναι καὶ μεταβάλλειν τῶν μὲν σηπο-
n Bae: b] rn a
μένων τῶν δ᾽ ἐξ ἀρχῆς Βλαστανουσῶν. ἐπεί, ἐὰν
b \ “ [χὰ », ey \ > /
ἀληθὲς ἡ, ὥς γέ τινές φασι, τὰς ἀμπέλους μακρο-
el ot an Oey aerial eat
2 ἀναθεραπεύοι con}. W.3; avabepamever Ald.
8. ἢ εἰ καὶ ὅλως conj. W.; ἃ εἰ καὶ καλῶς U; ἀεὶ καὶ καλῶ"
MV; καὶ εἰ καλῶς Ald. H.
4 Sc. and then encourage new growth,
386
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xm. 2-4
lived than those which live in dry places: this is true
of willow abele elder and black poplar.
Some trees, though they grow old and decay
quickly, shoot up again from the same stock,! as
bay apple pomegranate and most of the water-
loving trees. About these one might enquire
whether one should call the new growth the same
tree or a new one; to take a similar case, if, after
cutting down the trunk, one should, as the husband-
men do, encourage? the new shoots to grow again,
or if? one should cut the tree right down to the
roots and burn the stump,‘ (for these things are
commonly done, and they also sometimes occur
naturally); are we then here too, to call the new
growth the same tree, or another one? In so far as
it is always the parts of the tree which appear to
alternate their periods of growth and decay and also
the prunings which they themselves thus make, so
far the newand the old growth might seem to be the
same tree; for what difference can there be in the
one as compared with the other?® On the other
hand, in so far as the trunk would seem to be above
all the essential part of the tree, which gives it its
special character, when this changes, one might
suppose that the whole tree becomes something
different—unless indeed one should lay down that to
have the same starting-point constitutes identity ;
whereas it often® happens that the roots too are
different and undergo a change, since some decay
and others grow afresh.’ For if it be true, as some
assert, that the reason why the vine is the longest
5 j.e. how can the substitution of one set of ‘ parts’ for
another destroy the identity of the tree as a whole?
6 πολλάκις COnj. Sch. from G ; πολλὰ καὶ Ald. H.
7 And so the ‘starting-point’ too is not constant.
387
THEOPHRASTUS
βιωτάτας εἶναι τῷ μὴ φύειν ἑτέρας ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ αὐτῶ
ς ῷ μὴ pas αὐτῶι
ἘΠ τεὴν “ A x ,
ἀεὶ συναναπληροῦσθαι, γελοῖον ἂν ἴσως δοκοίη τοι-
, \
αὐτη σύγκρισις ἐὰν «μὴ: μένῃ TO στέλεχος: αὕτη
γὰρ οἷον ὑπόθεσις καὶ φύσις δένδρων. τοῦτο μὲν
«
οὖν ὁποτέρως ποτὲ λεκτέον οὐθὲν ἂν διενέγκαι
\ \ a ΟῚ
πρὸς τὰ νῦν. τάχα δ᾽ ἂν εἴη μακροβιώτατον τὸ
πάντως δυνάμενον ἀνταρκεῖν, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐλάα καὶ
A \ n / a
τῷ στελέχει καὶ τῇ παραβλαστήσει Kal τῷ
» Ν εἰ lal \ ς /
δυσωλέθρους ἔχειν τὰς pitas. δοκεῖ δὲ ὁ Bios
τῆς γε μιᾶς εἶναι, καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ στέλεχος δεῖ τὴν
\ / Ud A
ἀρχὴν τιθέντα μέτρον ἀναμετρεῖν τὸν χρόνον,
, an
μάλιστα περὶ ἔτη διακόσια. εἰ δ᾽ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν
, / lal
ἀμπέλων λέγουσί TIVES, WS παραιρουμένων τῶν
ῥιζῶν κατὰ μέρος δύναται διαμένειν τὸ στέλεχος,
fe / ς “
καὶ ἡ ὅλη φύσις ὁμοία καὶ ὁμοιοφόρος ὁποσονοῦν
A
χρόνον, μακροβιώτατον ἂν ein πάντων. φασὶ δὲ
δεῖν οὕτω ποιεῖν ὅταν ἤδη δοκῇ καταφέρεσθαι:
/ 4 > τ \ n \
κλήματά τε ἐπιβάλλειν καὶ καρποῦσθαι τὸν
\ “ \
ἐνιαυτόν: μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα κατασκάψαντα ἐπὶ
θάτερα THs ἀμπέλου περικαθᾶραι πάσας τὰς
CP > a / ἌΣ /
pitas, εἶτ᾽ ἐμπλῆσαι φρυγάνων καὶ ἐπαμήσασθαι
Ἁ “ / \ 3 a »” “ /
τὴν γῆν: τούτῳ μὲν οὖν TO ἔτει κακῶς HéEpent
ἠὃ A δ᾽ ς / ω βέλ ἰ a δὲ ’ \
σφοὸρα, Tw ὑστέρῳ βέλτιον, τῷ O€ τρίτῳ καὶ
1 δὲ αὐτῶν Ald., sc. τῶν ῥιζῶν ; ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν conj. W.
2 7.e. such an argument practically assumes the permanence
of the trunk, which in the case of the vine can hardly be
considered apart from the root. δοκοίη τοιαύτη σύγκρισις I
conj. from ἃ ; δικαιοτάτη σύγκρισις MVAId.; δικαιοτάτηι
συγκρίσεις U; δοκοίη εἶναι ἣ σύγκρισις conj. Sch.; so W. in
his earlier edition: in his later editions he emends wildly.
388
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xu. 4-6
lived of trees, is that, instead of producing new
roots, it always renews itself from the existing ones,!
such an illustration must surely lead to an absurd con-
clusion,? unless? we assume that the stock persists,
as it must do, since it is, as it were, the fundamental
and essential part of a tree. However it cannot
matter much for our present purpose which account
is the right one. Perhaps we may say that the
longest-lived tree is that which in all ways is able to
persist, as does the olive by its trunk, by its power
of developing sidegrowth, and by the fact that its
roots are so hard to destroy. It appears that tne
life of the individual olive (in regard to which one
should make the trunk the essential part and standard ®
in estimating the time), lasts for about two hundred
years.® But if it is true of the vine, as some say, that,
if the roots are partly removed, the trunk is able to
survive, and the whole character of the tree remains
the same and produces like fruits for any period,
however long, then the vine will be the longest-lived
of all trees. They say that, when the vine seems to
be deteriorating, this is what one should do :—one
should encourage the growth of branches and gather
the fruit that year; and after that one should dig on
one side of the vine and prune away all the roots on
that side, and then fill the hole with brushwood and
heap up the soil. In that year, they say, the vine
bears very badly, but better in the next, while in the
3.1 have inserted μὴ, which G seems to have read.
4 ἀνταρκεῖν U, cf. Ar. Hq. 540; αὐταρκεῖν Ald.
5 καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ στέλεχος δεῖ τὴν ἀρχὴν τιθέντα I conj. ; so G;
καθ᾽ ὃν στέλεχος ἤδη τὴν ἀρχὴν τιθέντα μέτρον Ald.H.; εἰ
δεῖ for ἤδη U3; καθ᾽ ὃ τοῦ στελέχους δεῖ τὸν ὄγκον τιθέντα μέτρον
conj. W.; καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ στ. ἤδη ἀρχὴν καὶ μέτρον χρὴ conj. Sch.
α΄. end of § 4. 6 Plin. 16. 241.
389
THEOPHRASTUS
τετάρτῳ καθίστασθαι καὶ φέρειν πολλοὺς και
fd e \ / Kx Ὁ »
καλούς, ὥστε μηδὲν διαφέρειν ἢ ὅτε ἤκμαζεν'
᾽ \ \ / >? A , /
ἐπειδὰν δὲ πάλιν ἀποπληγῇ, θάτερον μέρος παρα-
4 ε / \
σκάπτειν Kal θεραπεύειν ὁμοίως, καὶ οὕτως αἰεὶ
a la) ’ a
διαμένειν: ποιεῖν δὲ τοῦτο μάλιστα bu ἐτῶν δέκα:
᾽ , U \ a a
de ὃ Kal κόπτειν οὐδέποτε TOUS τοῦτο ποιοῦντας,
\ \
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ γενεὰς πολλὰς ταὐτὰ τὰ στελέχη δια-
σ an \ ,
μένειν, ὥστε μηδὲ μεμνῆσθαι τοὺς φυτεύσαντας"
a a ,
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἴσως TOV πεπειραμένων ἀκούοντα
a / \ \ id \ ΄
δεῖ πιστεύειν. τὰ δὲ μακρόβια καὶ βραχύβια
“ >? ἰδ ,
διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων θεωρητέον.
a ,
XIV. Νοσήματα δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἀγρίοις οὔ φασι
, a /
ξυμβαίνειν ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἀναιροῦνται, φαύλως δὲ δια-
\
τίθεσθαι καὶ μάλιστα ἐπιδήλως ὅταν χαλαζοκο-
a A fy , a > / x
πηθῇ ἢ βλαστάνειν μέλλοντα ἢ ἀρχόμενα ἢ
“Ὁ A na
ἀνθοῦντα, καὶ ὅταν ἢ πνεῦμα ψυχρὸν ἢ θερμὸν
/
ἐπιγένηται KATA τούτους τοὺς καιρούς. ὑπὸ δὲ
- ς / , 27Q\ xn € /
TOV ὡραίων χειμώνων οὐδὲ av ὑπερβάλλοντες
\ a
@olv οὐδὲν πάσχειν, ἀλλὰ Kal ξυμφέρειν πᾶσι
a \ fa \
χειμασθῆναι' μὴ χειμασθέντα yap κακοβλαστό-
’ a
tepa γίνεσθαι. τοῖς δὲ ἡμέροις ἐστὶ πλείω νοσή-
\ ᾽ X cal a
ματα, Kal τὰ μὲν ὥσπερ κοινὰ πᾶσιν ἢ τοῖς
, \ ey \ t \ \ ’
πλείστοις τὰ δ᾽ ἴδια κατὰ γένη. κοινὰ δὴ τό τε
lol \ lal €
σκωληκοῦσθαι Kal ἀστροβολεῖσθαι καὶ ὁ σφα-
“ \ ca)
κελισμός. ἅπαντα yap ws εἰπεῖν Kal σκώληκας
1 ἀποπληγῇ : ἀπολήγῃ conj. Sch.
Pin. 17. 910: Sele Cerio os.
* κατὰ γένη conj. W.; καὶ τὰ γένη UMV; καὶ κατὰ γένη Ald.
390
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xr. 6--χιν, 2
third and fourth it becomes normal again and bears
many fair clusters, so that it is quite as good as when
it was in its prime. And when it goes off again,}
they say one should dig on the other side and apply
the same treatment; and that so treated the tree
lasts for ever ; and this should be done at intervals of
about ten years. And this is why those who adopt
this treatment never cut down the vine, but the same
stems remain for many generations, so that even
those who planted the trees cannot remember doing
so. However perhaps one should enquire of those
who have had experience before accepting this state-
ment. These examples may serve for considering
which trees are long-lived and which short-lived.
Of diseases and injuries done by weather conditions.
XIV. 2As to diseases—they say that wild trees
are not liable to diseases which destroy them, but
that they get into poor condition, and that most
obviously when they are smitten with hail when
either they are about to bud or are just budding
or are in bloom; also when either a cold or a hot
wind comes at such seasons: but that from season-
able storms, even if they be violent, they take no
hurt,? but rather that it is good for them all to be
exposed to weather: for, unless they are, they do
not grow so well. Cultivated kinds however, they
say, are subject to various diseases, some of which
are, one may say, common to all or to most, while
others are special to particular kinds.4 General
diseases are those® of being worm-eaten, of being
sun-scorched, and rot.® All trees, it may be said,
5 κοινὰ δὴ τό τε Conj. W.; κοινὰ καὶ τότε UMV; κοινά" οἷον
τότε Ald. H. 6 of. 8.10. 1.
391
THEOPHRASTUS
ἴσχει πλὴν τὰ μὲν ἐλάττους τὰ δὲ πλείους, καθά-
περ συκῆ μηλέα καὶ ἄπιος. ὡς δὲ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν
ἥκιστα σκωληκοῦνται τὰ δριμέα καὶ ὀπώδη, καὶ
ἀστροβολεῖται ὡσαύτως" μᾶλλον δὲ τοῖς νέοις ἢ
τοῖς ἐν ἀκμῇ τοῦτο συμβαίνει, πάντων δὲ μάλιστα
τῇ τε συκῇ καὶ τῇ ἀμπέλῳ.
ad δ ἐλάα πρὸς τῷ τοὺς σκώληκας ἴσχειν, οἱ
δὴ καὶ τὴν συκῆν διαφθείρουσιν ἐ ἐντίκτοντες, φύει
καὶ ἧλον" οἱ δὲ μύκητα καλοῦσιν, ἔνιοι δὲ λοπάδα:
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν οἷον ἡλίου καῦσις. διαφθείρονται
δ᾽ ἐνίοτε καὶ ai νέαι ἐλάαι διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς
πολυκαρπίας. ἡ δὲ ψώρα καὶ οἱ προσφυόμενοι
κοχλίαι συκῆς εἰσιν: οὐ πανταχοῦ δὲ τοῦτο
συμβαίνει ταῖς συκαῖς, ἀλλ᾽ ἔοικε καὶ τὰ
νοσήματα γίνεσθαι, κατὰ τοὺς τόπους, ὥσπερ τοῖς
ζώοις" ἐπεὶ παρ᾽ ἐνίοις οὐ ψωριῶσι, καθάπερ οὐδὲ
περὶ τὴν Αἰνείαν.
᾿Αλίσκεται δὲ συκῆ μάλιστα καὶ σφακελισμῷ
καὶ κράδῳ. καλεῖται δὲ σφακελισμὸς μὲν ὅταν αἱ
ῥίζαι μελανθῶσι, κράδος δ᾽ ὅταν οἱ κλάδοι" καὶ
γὰρ καλοῦσί τίνες κράδους, ὅθεν καὶ τοὔνομα τῇ
νόσῳ" 0 8 ἐρινεὸς οὔτε κραδᾷ οὔτε σφακελίξει
οὔτε ψωριᾷ οὔτε σκωληκοῦται ταῖς ῥιζαῖς ὁ ὁμοίως:
οὐδὲ δὴ τὰ ἐρινά τίνες ἀποβάλλουσιν οὐδ᾽ ἐὰν
ἐμφυτευθῶσιν εἰς συκῆν.
1 ὀπώδη UMVAId.; εὐώδη H., evidently from Plin. 17. 221.
cf. C.P. 5. 9. 4 and 5.
2 λοπάδα: Plin. 17. 223, patella. The ἧλος is an abortive
bud, called in Italian novolo.
3 ἡλίου καῦσις conj. Scal. from Plin. ἐ. 6. veluti solis exustio :
80 also G; ἡλοιαυτον U; ἧλοι αὐτὸν V; ἥλοι αὐτῶν M3; faa
αὐτῶν Ald. which W. prints provisionally,
392
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 2-4
have worms, but some less, as fig and apple, some
more, as pear. Speaking generally, those least liable
to be worm-eaten are those which have a bitter
acrid! juice, and these are also less liable to sun-
scorch. Moreover this occurs more commonly in
young trees than in those which have come to their
strength, and most of all it occurs in the fig and the
vine.
The olive, in addition to having worms (which
destroy the fig too by breeding in it), produces also
a ‘knot’ (which some call a fungus, others a bark-
blister 23), and it resembles the effect of sun-scorch.3
Also sometimes young olives are destroyed by exces-
sive fruitfulness. The fig is also liable to scab, and
to snails which cling to it. However this does not
happen to figs everywhere, but it appears that, as
with animals, diseases are dependent on local con-
ditions ; for in some parts, as about Aineia,‘ the figs
do not get scab.
The fig is also often a victim to rot and to
krados. It is called rot when the roots turn black,
it is called krados when the branches do so; for
some call the branches kradoz® (instead of kladoi),
whence the name is transferred to the disease. The
wild fig does not suffer from krados rot or scab, nor
does it get so worm-eaten in its roots® as the culti-
vated tree; indeed some wild figs do not even shed
their early fruit—not even if they are grafted? into
a cultivated tree.
ὉΠ 5. Ὁ 5 Evidently a dialectic form.
5 ῥίζαις PAld.; συκαῖς W. after conj. of Sch.
* ἐμφυτευθῶσιν conj. Sch.; ἔνι gut. UMV; ἔνια our. Ald.
Apparently the object of such grafting was the ‘ caprification ’
of the cultivated tree (ef. 2. 8. 3); but grafting for this
purpose does not seem to be mentioned elsewhere.
393
THEOPHRASTUS
« δ
Η δὲ ψώρα μάλιστα γίνεται ὅταν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ
Πλειάδι γένηται μὴ πολύ: ἐὰν δὲ πολύ, ἀπο-
΄ ΄ \ / \ Aad ae
κλύζξεται: συμβαίνει δὲ τότε Kal τὰ ἐρινὰ ἀπορ-
ρεῖν καὶ τοὺς ὀλύνθους. τῶν δὲ σκωλήκων τῶν
an a an /
ἐν ταῖς συκαῖς οἱ μὲν ἐξ αὐτῆς γίνονται οἱ δὲ
, \ a ,
ἐντίκτονται ὑπὸ τοῦ καλουμένου κεράστου" πάντες
δὲ εἰς κεράστην ἀποκαθίστανται' φθέγγονται δὲ
, a lel \ \
οἷον τριγμόν. νοσεῖ δὲ συκῆ Kal ἐὰν ἐπομβρία
Ν \ J \
γένηται" τά τε yap πρὸς THY ῥίζαν Kal αὐτὴ ἡ
ἘΝ Ld aA la) \ la) -
pila ὥσπερ pada: τοῦτο δὲ καλοῦσι λοπᾶν.
ς >) ” [2] “ Ν / > Qn
ἡ © ἄμπελος τραγᾷ' τοῦτο δὲ μάλιστα αὐτῆς
ἐστι πρὸς τῷ ἀστροβολεῖσθαι, ἢ ὅταν ὑπὸ
πνευμάτων βλαστοκοπηθῇ ἢ ὅταν τῇ ἐργασίᾳ
aA , / a
συμπάθῃ ἢ τρίτον ὑπτία τμηθῇ.
ς \ \ Id ἃ Ὁ ΤΡ ,
Puds δὲ γίνεται, ὃ καλοῦσί τινες ψίνεσθαι,
A b] fal \ \ > , Ἃ “
ὅταν ἐπινιφθῆῇ κατὰ τὴν ἀπανθησιν ἢ ὅταν
a \ / Ay « a
κρειττωθῆ: TO δὲ πάθος ἐστὶν ὥστε ἀπορρεῖν τὰς
a \ ΄ ΞΨ'
ῥᾶγας καὶ τὰς ἐπιμενούσας εἶναι μικράς. ἔνια δὲ
a 4 ”
καὶ ῥιγώσαντα νοσεῖ, καθάπερ ἡ ἄμπελος: ap-
βλοῦνται γὰρ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῆς πρωτοτόμου" καὶ
/ tal \ \ fs
πάλιν ὑπερθερμανθέντα: ζητεῖ yap καὶ τούτων τὴν
ls ef \ a n a
συμμετρίαν ὥσπερ Kal τῆς τροφῆς. ὅλως δὲ πᾶν
τὸ παρὰ φύσιν ἐπικίνδυνον.
ΤΙ Ὁ 5 0. LO ΘΟ 6.9, 15:
2 of. ὅ. 4. δ; CLP. 5.10.5; Plin. 17. 221.
3 αὐτὴ ἡ ῥίζα 1 conj.; αὐτὴν τὴν ῥίζαν U; om. Ald.
ὙΠ C, Pid) Ga lees Pin, 17: 95:
5 7.¢. shedding of the ‘bark’ of the roots. λοπᾶν conj.
Sch., cf. C.P. 5. 9. 9; λοπάδα Ald.H., cf. 4. 14. 3; but the
word here points to a different disease.
6 ὑπτία τομή seems to be a technical term for pruning in
such a way that the growth of the new wood is encouraged
394
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 5-6
Scab! chiefly occurs when there is not much rain
after the rising of the Pleiad; if rain is abundant,
the scab is washed off, and at such times it comes
to pass that both the spring and the winter figs drop
off. Of the worms found in fig-trees some have their
origin in the tree, some are produced in it by the
creature called the ‘horned worm’ ; but they all turn
into the ‘horned worm’;? and they make a shrill
noise. The fig also becomes diseased if there is
heavy rain; for then the parts towards the root and
the root itself? become, as it were, sodden,‘ and this
they call ‘bark-shedding.’® The vine suffers from
over-luxuriance ; this, as well as sun-scorch, specially
happens to it either when the young shoots are cut
by winds, or when it has suffered from bad cultivation,
or, thirdly, when it has been pruned upwards.°®
The vine becomes a ‘ shedder,’? a condition which
some call ‘ casting of the fruit,’ if the tree is snowed
upon at the time when the blossom falls, or else
when it becomes over lusty; 8 what happens is that the
unripe grapes drop off, and those that remain on the
tree are small. Some trees also contract disease
from frost, for instance the vine ; for then the eyes of
the vine that was pruned early become abortive ; and
this also happens from excessive heat, for the vine
seeks regularity in these conditions too, as in its
nourishment. And in general anything is dangerous
which is contrary to the normal course of things.
and so there is less fruit: exact sense obscure; ? ‘from
below’ (#.e. with the blade of the knife pointing upwards).
cf. C.P. l.c.; Col. 4. 24. 15; Plin. l.c., in supinum excisis.
def. CE. δ. 9:15:
8 κρειττωθῇ : 1.6. the growth is over-luxuriant. The word
occurs elsewhere only in the parallel passage C.P. l.c., where
occurs also the subst. κρείττωσις, evidently a technical term.
395
7
THEOPHRASTUS
Μεγάλα δὲ ξυμβάλλεται καὶ τὰ τραύματα καὶ
αἱ πληγαὶ τῶν περισκαπτόντων εἰς τὸ μὴ φέρειν
τὰς μεταβολὰς ἢ ἢ καυμάτων. ἢ χειμώνων" ἀσθενὲς
γὰρ ὃν διὰ τὴν ἕλκωσιν καὶ τὸν πόνον εὐχειρω-
τότατόν ἐστι ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς. σχεδὸν δέ, ὦ ὥς τίνες
οἴονται, τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν νοσημάτων ἀπὸ πληγῆς
γίνεται" καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἀστρόβλητα καλούμενα καὶ
τὰ σφακελίζοντα διὰ τὸ ἀπὸ ταύτης εἶναι τῶν
διζῶν τὸν πόνον. οἴονται δὲ καὶ δύο ταύτας εἶναι
μόνας νόσους: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γ᾽ οὐκ ἄγαν
ὁμολογούμενόν ἐστι.
[Πάντων δ᾽ ἀσθενέστατον ἡ μηλέα ἡ ἠρινὴ καὶ
τούτων ἡ γλυκεῖα. J
Ἔνιαι δὲ πηρώσεις οὐκ eis φθορὰν γίνονται
ὅλων ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ἀκαρπίαν: οἷον ἐάν τις τῆς πίτυος
ἀφέλῃ τὸ ἄκρον ἢ τοῦ φοίνικος, ἄκαρπα γίνεσθαι
ἄμφω δοκεῖ καὶ οὐχ ὅλως ἀναιρεῖσθαι.
Vivovras δὲ νόσοι καὶ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν, ἐὰν
μὴ κατὰ καιρὸν τὰ πνεύματα καὶ τὰ οὐράνια
γένηται" συμβαίνει γὰρ ὁτὲ μὲν ἀποβάλλειν
γενομένων ἢ ἢ μὴ γενομένων ὑδάτων, οἷον τὰς συκᾶς,
ὁτὲ δὲ χείρους γίνεσθαι σηπομένους καὶ καταπνιγο-
μένους ἢ πάλιν ἀναξηραινομένους παρὰ τὸ δέον.
χείριστον δὲ ἐὰν ἀπανθοῦσί τισιν ἐφύσῃ, καθάπερ
ἐλάᾳ καὶ ἀμπέλῳ: συναπορρεῖ γὰρ ὁ καρπὸς δι’
ἀσθένειαν.
ΤΙ 17: ΣΡ:
7 εὐχειρωτότατον conj. W. after Lobeck ; εὐχειρότατον Ald.
3 πόνον conj. H. from G; τόπον MV Ald.
4 This sentence is clearly out of place: the plural τούτων
has nothing to refer to. ef. 4. 13.2. It is represented how-
ever by Plin. ἐ.6.
396
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xv. 7-8
1 Moreover the wounds and blows inflicted by men
who dig about the vines render them less able to bear
the alternations of heat and cold ; for then the tree is
weak owing to the wounding and to the strain put
upon it, and falls an easy prey? to excess of heat
and cold. Indeed, as some think, most diseases
may be said to be due to a blow; for that even
the diseases known as ‘ sun-scorch’ and ‘rot’ occur
because the roots have suffered in this way.? In
fact they think that there are only these two
diseases ; but there is not general agreement on this
point.
The ‘spring apple’ and especially the sweet
form of it, has the weakest constitution.
5Some mutilations however do not cause destruc-
tion of the whole ® tree, but only produce barrenness ;
for instance, if one takes away the top of the Aleppo
pine or the date-palm, the tree in both cases appears
to become barren, but not to be altogether destroyed.
There are also diseases of the fruits themselves,
which occur if the winds and rains do not come
in due season. For it comes to pass’ that sometimes
trees, figs, for example, shed their fruit when rain
does or does not come, and’ sometimes the fruit is
spoilt by being rotted and so choked off,? or again
by being unduly dried up. It is worst of all for
some trees, as olive and vine, if rain falls on them as
they are dropping their blossom ; 10 for then the fruit,
having no strength, drops also.
5 Plin. 17. 228 and 229.
6 ὅλων conj. W.; τινων P,Ald.H. cf. C.P. 5. 17. 3 and 6.
ΤΟΙΣ ΟΣ 0010.00:
8 δὲ add. Sch. ΒΓ ΟΣ ἘΣ εἴς:
10 ἀπανθοῦσι conj. Sch. from G and Plin. ἰ.6.; ἐπανθοῦσι Ald. H.
397
THEOPHRASTUS
’ \ \ “
Ev Μιλήτῳ δὲ τὰς ἐλάας, ὅταν ὦσι περὶ το
, a / , e \ Ν 4 «
ἀνθεῖν, κάμπαι κατεσθίουσιν, αἱ μὲν τὰ φύλλα αἱ
ΝΜ a Ve rn
δὲ τὰ ἄνθη, ἕτεραι τῷ γένει, καὶ ψιλοῦσι τὰ
’ὔ / NP SDN oa / \ > ’ SIN
δένδρα: γίνονται δὲ ἐὰν ἢ νότια Kal εὐδιεινά" ἐὰν
VA
δὲ ἐπιλάβῃ καύματα ῥήγνυνται.
’
Περὶ δὲ Τάραντα προφαίνουσι μὲν ἀεὶ πολὺν
/ (e \ \ \ > ͵ \ ᾽ > /
καρπόν, ὑπὸ δὲ THY ἀπάνθησιν τὰ TOAN ἀπόλ-
an an /
λυται. τὰ μὲν οὖν τοιαῦτα τῶν τόπων ἴδια.
/ \ » fd Mf a > ‘
"νεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλο νόσημα περὶ τὰς ἐλάας
ἀράχνιον καλούμενον" φύεται γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ δια-
\ /
φθείρει Tov καρπόν. ἐπικάει δὲ καὶ καύματά
τινα καὶ ἐλάαν καὶ βότρυν καὶ ἄλλους καρπούς.
οἱ δὲ καρποὶ σκωληκοῦνταί τίνων, οἷον ἐλάας
ἀπίου μηλέας μεσπίλης ῥ poas. καὶ ὅ γε τῆς ἐλάας
σκώληξ ἐ ἐὰν μὲν ὑπὸ τὸ δέ ρμα γένηται διαφθείρει
τὸν καρπόν, ἐὰν δὲ τὸν πυρῆνα διαφάγῃ ὠφελεῖ.
κωλύεται δὲ ὑπὸ τῷ δέρματι εἶναι ὕδατος ἐπ᾽
᾿Αρκτούρῳ γενομένου. γίνονται, δὲ καὶ ἐν ταῖς
δρυπεπέσι σκώληκες, αἵπερ καὶ χείρους εἰς τὴν
=>
ῥύσιν" ὅλως δὲ καὶ δοκοῦσιν εἶναι σαπραΐί: δ ὃ
καὶ γίνονται τοῖς νοτίοις καὶ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς
/ a “
ἐφύδροις. ἐγγίνονται δὲ καὶ κνῖπες ἔν τισι τῶν
a A. \ A a
δένδρων, ὥσπερ ἐν TH δρυὶ Kal TH συκῇ" Kal
n a , an
δοκοῦσιν ἐκ τῆς ὑγρότητος συνίστασθαι THs ὑπὸ
- 3 / a
τὸν φλοιὸν συνισταμένης: αὕτη δέ ἐστι γλυκεῖα
\ ,
γευομένοις. γίνονται δὲ καὶ ἐν λαχάνοις τισίν,
ef CUP. δ. 10: 3.
Tarentum : ef. C.P. 16:
ἀπάνθησιν conj. W.; ἄνθησιν Ald.
4 Plin. 17. 229-231.
5 ἀράχνιον conj. Sch. after Meurs.; ἀρίχνιον UPg3 ἀρχίχνιον
MVP; ἀρχίνιον Ald. ef. C.P. 5. 10. 2
398
> =
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 9-10
1In Miletus the vines at the time of flowering are
eaten by caterpillars, some of which devour the
flowers, others, a different kind, the leaves; and they
strip the tree; these appear if there is a south wind
and sunny weather ; if the heat overtakes them, the
trees split.
About Taras? the olives always shew much fruit,
but most of it perishes at the time when the blossom
falls.8 Such are the drawbacks special to par-
ticular regions.
4There is also another disease incident to the
olive, which is called cobweb; ° for this forms ®
on the tree and destroys the fruit. Certain hot?
winds also scorch both olive vine-cluster and other
fruits. And the fruits of some get worm-eaten,’ as
olive pear apple medlar pomegranate. Now the
worm which infests the olive, if it appears below the
skin, destroys the fruit; but if it devours the stone it
is beneficial, And it is prevented from appearing
under the skin if there is rain after? the rising of
Arcturus. Worms also occur in the fruit which
ripens on the tree, and these are more harmful as
affecting the yield of oil. Indeed these worms seem
to be altogether rotten ; wherefore they appear when
there is a south wind and particularly in damp
places. The knzps!° also occurs in certain trees, as
the oak and fig, and it appears that it forms from the
moisture which collects under the bark, which is
sweet to the taste. Worms also occur! in some
6 φύεται Ald.; ἐμφύεται conj. Sch. from C.P. l.c., but the
text is perhaps defective.
ef. CP. 5. 10: Ὁ: 8 Ὁ Ὁ. δ: 10} 1:
9. Ἐπὶ Cony. Θ0Π,, 6). Ὁ. δ. 5. LOW 1 ὑπ᾿ Ὁ: ἀπὸ “Ald. Ae
ΣΟ 9.8.9
1 The subject οὗ γίνονται is probably σκώληκες, ποῦ κνῖπες.
399
11
12
THEOPHRASTUS
\ 4 a “ aA
ἔνθα δὲ κάμπαι διαφερούσης δῆλον ὅτι τῆς
’ an
ἀρχῆς.
\ \ \ / \ nn Ν >’
Kal τὰ μὲν νοσήματα σχεδὸν ταῦτα καὶ ἐν
,
τούτοις ἐστίν. ἔνια δὲ πάθη τῶν κατὰ τὰς ὥρας
καὶ τῶν κατὰ τοὺς τόπους , γινομένων ἀναιρεῖν
πέφυκεν, ἃ οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι νόσους, οἷον λέγω τὴν
Ψ, \ a “ ’, , yA \
ἔκπηξιν καὶ ὃ καλοῦσί τινες καυθμόν. ἄλλα δὲ
> 7,
Tap ἑκάστοις πέφυκε πνεύματα ἀπολλύναι Kal
ἀποκάειν" οἷον ἐν Χαλκίδι τῆς Εὐβοίας ᾿Ολυμπίας
΄ὔ Ν “
ὅταν πνεύσῃ μικρὸν πρὸ τροπῶν ἢ μετὰ τροπὰς
χειμερινὰς ψυχρός: ἀποκάει “γὰρ τὰ δένδρα καὶ
οὕτως ava ποιεῖ Kal ξηρὰ ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν ὑφ᾽ ἡλίου
καὶ χρόνου πολλοῦ γένοιτ᾽ ἄν, δι’ ὃ καὶ καλοῦσι
/ / /
KkavO mov: ἐγένετο δὲ πρότερον πολλάκις ἤδη Kal
7? / a
ἐπ᾽ ᾿Αρχίππου δι᾽ ἐτῶν τετταράκοντα σφοδρός.
al a / val
Πονοῦσι δὲ μάλιστα τῶν τόπων οἱ κοῖλοι Kal
a , \ \
οἱ αὐλῶνες Kal ὅσοι περὶ τοὺς ποταμοὺς Kal
n / a / \
ἁπλῶς οἱ ἀπνευστότατοι" τῶν δένδρων δὲ μάλιστα
a / \ 2 4 > ΄ \ Ὁ td
συκῆ, δεύτερον δὲ ἐλάα. ἐλάας δὲ μᾶλλον ὁ
, ’ Ν
κοτινος ἐπόνησεν ἰσχυρότερος ὦν, ὃ καὶ θαυμαστὸν
a \ a a
ἦν: al δὲ ἀμυγδαλαῖ τὸ πάμπαν ἀπαθεῖς" ἀπαθεῖς
id if / A / /
δὲ καὶ at μηλέαι Kal αἱ ἄπιοι Kal ai poat ἐγένοντο"
an 3 /
δι’ ὃ Kal τοῦτο ἣν θαυμαστόν. ἀποκάεται δὲ
3 \ 2 a , Ney, \ a \
εὐθὺς ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους, Kal ὅλως δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ
7 a © Ν , fal
πρότερον ὡς εἰπεῖν ἅπτεται «τὰ AVW> TOV κάτω.
νὰ \ ’ Ni \ a \ \
φανερὰ δὲ γίνεται τὰ μὲν ἅμα περὶ τὴν βλάστησιν,
1 Plin. 17. 232.
2 τῶν κατὰ τούς τόπους conj. Sch. from Plin. l.c.3; τῶν καθ᾽
αὑτὰ Ald.
3 ἔκπηξιν conj. Sch.; ἔκπληξιν UMP,Ald. ef. C.P. 5. 12. 2,
πῆξις.
ἐπ O.P. 612i 4,
400
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 10-12
pot-herbs, as also do caterpillars, though the origin
of these is of course different.
Such are in general the diseases, and the plants
in which they occur. Moreover! there are certain
affections due to season or situation ? which are likely
to destroy the plant, but which one would not call
diseases: I mean such affections as freezing? and
what some call ‘scorching.’ Also’ there are winds
which blow in particular districts that are likely to
destroy or scorch; for instance the ‘Olympian’
wind of Chalcis in Euboea, when it blows cold a
little before or after the winter solstice; for this
wind scorches up the trees and makes them more
dry and withered than they would become from the
sun’s heat even in a long period ; wherefore its effect
is called ‘scorching.’ In old times it occurred very
frequently, and it recurred with great violence in
the time of Archippus, after an interval of forty
years.
*The places which suffer most in this way are
hollow places, valleys, the ground near rivers, and, in
general, places which are least open to wind; the
tree which suffers most is the fig, and next to that
the olive. The wild olive, being stronger, suffered
more than the cultivated tree, which was surprising.
But the almonds were altogether unscathed, as also
were the apples pears and pomegranates ; wherefore
this too was a surprising fact. The tree gets scorched
vy this wind right down to the trunk, and in general
the upper are caught more and earlier than the lower
parts.© The effects are seen partly at the actual
Sef. ΟἿΣ 5:2. 7 see line 7. 232-and. 233;
σ΄ κάτω UMVP; ἄνω W. after Sch.’s conj.: text probably
defective ; I have added τὰ ἄνω. of. C.P. 5. 12. 5.
401
13
14
THEOPHRASTUS
ἡ δὲ ἐλάα διὰ τὸ ἀείφυλλον ὕστερον" ὅσαι μὲν οὖν
ἂν φυλλοβολήσωσιν ἀναβιώσκονται πάλιν, ὅσαι
δ᾽ ἂν μὴ τελέως ἀπόλλυνται. map ἐνίοις δέ τίνες
ἀποκαυθεῖσαι καὶ τῶν φύλλων αὐανθέντων ἀνε-
βλάστησαν πάλιν ἄνευ τοῦ ἀποβαλεῖν καὶ τὰ
φύλλα ἀνεβίωσεν. ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ πολλάκις
τοῦτο συμβαίνει, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις.
Τὰ δ᾽ ἐκπαγέντα, ὅταν μὴ τελέως ἀπόληται,
τάχιστα ἀναβλαστάνει, ὥστε εὐθὺς τὴν ἄμπελον
καρποφορεῖν, ὥσπερ ἐν Θετταλίᾳ. ἐν δὲ τῷ
όντῳ περὶ Παντικάπαιον αἱ μὲν ἐκπήξεις
γίνονται διχῶς, ὁ ὁτὲ μὲν ὑπὸ ψύχους ἐὰν χειμέριον
ἦ τὸ ἔτος, ὁτὲ δὲ ὑπὸ πάγων ἐάν γε πολὺν χρόνον
διαμένωσι. ἀμφότερα δὲ μάλιστα γίγνονται
μετὰ τροπὰς περὶ τὰς τετταράκοντα. γίνονται
δὲ οἱ μὲν πάγοι ταῖς αἰθρίαις, τὰ δὲ ψύχη μάλιστα
ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἡ ἔκπηξις ὅταν αἰθρίας οὔσης αἱ λεπίδες
καταφέρωνται. ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥσπερ τὰ ξύσματα
πλὴν πλατύτερα, καὶ φερόμενα φανερὰ πεσόντα
δὲ οὐ διαμένει" περὶ δὲ τὴν Θράκην ἐκπήγνυνται.
᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ αἱ μὲν νόσοι πόσαι τε καὶ ποῖαι καὶ
τίνες γίνονται καὶ πάλιν αἱ δι’ ὑπερβολὴν
χειμῶνος ἢ καυμάτων. φθοραὶ καὶ αἱ διὰ πνευ-
μάτων ψυχρότητα ἢ θερμότητα διὰ τούτων
θεωρείσθωσαν' ὧν ἐνίας οὐθὲν ἃ ἂν κωλύοι καὶ τοῖς
ἀγρίοις εἶναι κοινὰς καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὅλην τῶν
δένδρων φθορὰν καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον κατὰ τὴν τῶν
καρπῶν" ὃ καὶ συμβαῖνον ὁρῶμεν: οὐκ εὐκαρπεῖ
Δ Phim. ji Dae
2 ἐκπαγέντα conj. Sch.; ἐκπλαγέντα U; ἐκπληγέντα Ald.
3 ἐάν ye conj. Sch.; ἐὰν δὲ U; ἐὰν π. x. 5. γε Ald.
402
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS IV. xiv. 12-14
time of budding, but in the olive, because it is
evergreen, they do not appear till later; those trees
therefore which have shed their leaves come to life
again, but those that have not done so are completely
destroyed. In some places trees have been known,
after being thus scorched and after their leaves have
withered, to shoot again without shedding their
leaves, and the leaves have come to life again.
Indeed in some places, as at Philippi, this happens
several times.
1 Trees which have been frost-bitten,? when they
are not completely destroyed, soon shoot again, so
that the vine immediately bears fruit, for instance
in Thessaly. In Pontus near Panticapaeum the
frost-bite occurs in two ways, either just from cold,
if the season is wintry, or from long® spells of
frost; in either case this generally occurs in the 4
forty days after the winter solstice. The frosts
occur in fine weather, but the cold spells, which
cause the frost-bite, chiefly when in fine weather the
‘flakes’® fall; these are like filings, but broader,
and can be seen as they fall, but when they have
fallen, they disappear—though in Thrace they freeze
solid.
Let this suffice for consideration of the diseases,
their number and nature, including the fatal effects
of excessive cold and heat or of cold or hot winds.
And it may well be that certain of these also affect
wild trees, producing entire destruction of the tree
and still more that of the fruit. Indeed we see this
actually happen; for wild trees also often fail to
4 περὶ conj. Sch., cf. C.P. 5. 12. 4; μετὰ UMVAId.
5 λεπίδες conj. Scal. from G (squammulae); ῥεπίδες Ald. αἵ.
Hdt. 4. 31.
403
THEOPHRASTUS
oo a ᾽ » 4 ,
yap οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνα πολλάκις, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως οἶμαι
’,
παρατετήρηται.
\ ’ “ ¢
XV. Λοιπὸν δ᾽ εἰπεῖν ὅσα παραιρουμένων
la / / a
τινῶν μορίων ἀπόλλυται. κοινὴ μὲν δὴ πᾶσι
lal a / n
φθορὰ τοῦ φλοιοῦ περιαιρεθέντος κύκλῳ" πᾶν
a / a
yap ws εἰπεῖν οὕτως ἀπόλλυσθαι δοκεῖ πλὴν
> / \ cf a 2 \ ΄ /
ἀνδράχλη: καὶ αὕτη δὲ ἐάν τις τὴν σάρκα σφόδρα
N / \ ,
πιέσῃ καὶ τὸν μέλλοντα βλαστὸν διακόψη" πλὴν
’ » al al / \ > “-
εἰ ἄρα φελλοῦ' τοῦτον yap φασι καὶ εὐσθενεῖν
a / a Ὁ la) Μ \
μᾶλλον περιαιρουμένου δῆλον ὅτι τοῦ ἔξω Kal
fo) \ A , a
τοῦ κάτω πρὸς TH σαρκί, καθάπερ Kal τῆς avdpa-
\ \ fa) a
χλης. ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦ κεράσου περιαιρεῖται καὶ
a 2) / \ nm ͵ 2 & \ ,
τῆς ἀμπέλου καὶ τῆς φιλύρας, ἐξ οὗ τὰ σχοινία,
AN ’ὔ; A / > > > e ,
καὶ μαλάχης TOV ἐλαττόνων, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁ κύριος
903 ¢ a > br wee) n aA \ > ,
οὐδ᾽ ὁ πρῶτος, GAN ὁ ἐπιπολῆς, ὃς Kal αὐτόματος
banal « > / ἢ Ἁ 6 / /
ἐνίοτε ἀποπίπτει διὰ τὴν ὑπόφυσιν θατέρου.
Ν \ an a
Kai yap φλοιορραγῆ ἔνια τῶν δένδρων ἐστίν,
Ψ A us γ᾽ ἊΝ x e ΄ id /
ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ avdpdyAn Kal ἡ πλάτανος. ὡς δέ
” ΄ e / Ά e Wk
τινες οἴονται, πάλιν ὑποφύεται νέος, ὁ δὲ ἔξωθεν
/ /
ἀποξηραίνεται καὶ ῥήγνυται καὶ αὐτόματος
a > «ς
ἀποπίπτει πολλῶν, GAN οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐπίδηλος.
\ /
φθείρονται μὲν οὖν, ὡς οἴονται, πάντα περιαιρου-
’ ὃ , δὲ lal θᾶ \ δύ \
μένου, διαφέρει δὲ τῷ θᾶττον καὶ βραδύτερον καὶ
Pin 17... oats οἿ. Ὁ Ὸ δὲ 15:1:
ἌΟΡ ts ra
3 βλαστὸν conj. Sch. from G ; καρπὸν UAld. H.
‘ Plin. 17. 234-236.
404
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 14-xv. 2
produce a good crop of fruit ; but, I imagine, they
have not been so well observed.
Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heart-wood,
roots, etc.; of various causes of death.
XV. 1 Next we must mention what trees perish
when certain parts are removed. All perish alike, if
the bark is stripped off all round ; one may say that
every tree, except the andrachne,? perishes under
these circumstances; and this tree does so also, if
one does violence to the flesh, and so breaks off the
new growth? which is forming. However one
should perhaps except the cork-oak; for this, they
say, is all the stronger if its bark is stripped off, that
is, the outer bark and also that which lies below it
next the flesh—as with the andrachne. For the
bark is also stripped from the bird-cherry the vine
and the lime (and from this the ropes are made),
and, among smaller plants, from the mallow; but in
these cases it is not the real nor the first bark which
is taken, but that which grows above that, which
even of its own accord sometimes falls off because
fresh bark is forming underneath.
4In fact some trees, as andrachne and plane, have
a bark which cracks.> As some think, in many cases
a new bark forms ® underneath, while the outer bark
withers and cracks and in many cases falls off of its
own accord ; but the process is not so obvious as it is
in the above mentioned cases. Wherefore, as they
think, all trees are destroyed by stripping the bark,
though the destruction is not in all cases equally
5 of. C.P. 3. 18. 3. φλοιορραγῆ ἔνια conj. Mold.; φλοιορ-
payia μία UMV; φυλλορογία μία Ald.
δ ὑποφύεται conj. W.; ὑποφύει Ald. H.
405
THEOPHRASTUS
“~ ka » \ , ,
μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον. ἔνια yap πλείω χρόνον δια-
’ὔ / a \ / \ lol « \
μένει, καθάπερ συκῆ Kal φίχυρα καὶ δρῦς" οἱ δὲ
\ a A fal \ \ 7 Ἀ
καὶ ζῆν φασι ταῦτα, ζῆν δὲ καὶ πτελέαν καὶ
’ a \ , \ / \
φοίνικα: τῆς δὲ φιλύρας Kal συμφύεσθαι τὸν
\ A ral al i, », “
φλοιὸν πλὴν μικροῦ: τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οἷον πωροῦ-
, \ , -“
σθαι καὶ ἰδίαν τινὰ φύσιν ἔχειν. βοηθεῖν δὲ
πειρῶνται διαπλάττοντες πηλῷ καὶ περιδοῦντες
φλοιοῖς καὶ καλάμοις καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις, ὅπως μὴ
/ > / ’,
ψύχηται μηδ᾽ ἀποξηραίνηται. καὶ ἤδη φασί που
ἰναφῦναι, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν Ἡρακλείᾳ τῇ Τ' Ὶ
ἀναφῦναι, πες ρακλείᾳ τῇ ἸἹραχινιίᾳ,
\ a a \ a a Α͂ > aA \
Tas συκᾶς. δεῖ δὲ ἅμα TH τῆς χώρας ἀρετῇ καὶ
a \ a
τῇ τοῦ ἀέρος κράσει Kal TA ἐπιγιγνόμενα τοιαῦτα
εἶναι: χειμώνων γὰρ ἢ καυμάτων ἐπιγινομένων
σφοδρῶν εὐθὺς ἀπόλλυνται: διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ
e e \ \ \ ΄ 2 / a
ai ὧραι: περὶ yap τὴν βλάστησιν ἐλάτης ἢ
πεύκης, ὅτε καὶ λοπῶσι, τοῦ Θαργηλιῶνος ἢ
a ἡ / a
Σκιρροφοριῶνος ἄν τις περιέλῃ, παραχρῆμα ἀπ-
όλλυται. τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος πλείω χρόνον ἀντ-
ral \ / al
έχει Kal ἔτι μᾶλλον τὰ ἰσχυρότατα, καθάπερ πρῖ-
\ / \
vos καὶ δρῦς" χρονιωτέρα yap ἡ τούτων φθορά.
a \ , 7
δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν περιαίρεσιν ἔχειν τι πλάτος,
πάντων μὲν μάλιστα δὲ τῶν ἰσχυροτάτων" ἐπεὶ
\ a ”
ἄν TLS μικρὰν παντελῶς ποιήσῃ, οὐθὲν ἄτοπον TO
N > ‘ /, / /, ΣΧ e
μὴ ἀπόλλυσθαι" καίτοι φασί γέ τινες, ἐὰν ὁπ-
“ / / > ’ b] \ “A
οσονοῦυν, συμφθείρεσθαι πάντως" GAN ἐπὶ τῶν
ἌΝ
ἀσθενεστέρων τοῦτ᾽ εἰκός. ἔνια γὰρ κἂν μὴ
A , ’,
κύκλῳ περιαιρεθῇ φθείρεσθαί φασιν, ἃ καὶ
1 καὶ add. W. (text defective in MSS. except U).
406
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xv. 2-4
rapid or complete. Some in fact, as fig lime and oak,
survive for some time ; indeed some say that these
recover, and also the elm and date-palm, and
that the bark even of the lime almost entirely
closes up again, while in other trees it forms as it
were a callus and?! acquires a peculiar new character.
Men try to help the tree by plastering it with mud
and tying pieces of bark reeds or something of the
kind about it, so that it may not take cold nor
become dried up. And they say that the bark has
been known to grow again; 2 for instance that that
of the fig-trees at the Trachinian Heraclea did so.
However this does not only depend on the quality of
the soil and on the climate ; the other circumstances
which ensue must also be favourable; for, if great
cold or heat ensues, the tree perishes at once. The
season also makes a difference. For if one strips the
bark of a silver-fir or fir at the time when the buds
are shooting during Thargelion or Skirrophorion,? at
which season it is separable, the tree dies at once.
If it is done however in winter, the tree holds out
longer; and this is especially true of the strongest
trees, such as kermes-oak and oak; these it takes
longer to kill. However the piece stripped off must
be of a certain breadth to cause the death of the
tree, especially in the case of the strongest trees ; for,
if one does it only a little, it is not surprising that
the tree should not be killed; though some indeed
say that, if it is done at all,‘ the tree certainly dies ;
this however is probably true only of the weaker
kinds. For some, they say, if they are in bad barren
2 ἀναφῦναι conj. Scal. from G; φῦναι Ald. H.
3 May-June.
4 ὁποσονοῦν conj. Sch. from G ; ὁπωσοῦν Ald.
407
THEOPHRASTUS
λυπρὰν ἔχει χώραν καὶ ἄτροφον. αὕτη μὲν Sn,
καθάπερ εἴρηται, κοινὴ φθορὰ πάντων.
p.@ ale Ἣν δὲ καλοῦσιν ἐπικοπὴν τῶν δένδρων,
μόνον πεύκης ἐλάτης πίτυος φοίνικος, οἱ δὲ καὶ
κέδρου καὶ κυπαρίττου φασί. ταῦτα γάρ, ἐὰν
περιαιρεθῇ τὴν κόμην ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐπικοπτῇ τὸ
ἄκρον, φθείρεται πάντα καὶ οὐ βλαστάνει, καθά-
περ οὐδ᾽ ἐπικαυθέντα ἢ πάντα ἢ ἔνια. τὰ δ᾽
ἄλλα πάντα καὶ περικοπέντα βλαστάνει, καὶ
ἔνιά γε καλλίω γίνεται, “καθάπερ ἡ ἐλάα. δια-
φθείρεται δὲ τὰ πολλὰ κἂν σχισθῇ τὸ στέλεχος"
οὐδὲν γὰρ ὑπομένειν δοκεῖ πλὴν ἀμπέλου καὶ
συκῆς καὶ poas καὶ μηλέας" ἔνια δὲ κἂν ἑλκωθῇ
καὶ μεῖξον καὶ βαθύτερον ἀπόλλυται. τὰ δ᾽
οὐδὲν πάσχει, καθάπερ ἡ πεύκη δᾳδουργουμένη,
καὶ ἐξ ὧν δὴ τὰς ῥητίνας συλλέγουσιν, οἷον ἐλά-
της τερμίνθου" καὶ γὰρ δὴ τούτων εἰς βάθος ἡ
τρῶσις καὶ ἕλκωσις. καὶ γὰρ ἐξ ἀφόρων φοράδες
γίνονται καὶ ἐξ ὀλιγοφόρων πολυφόροι.
Τὰ δὲ καὶ πελέκησιν ὑπομένει καὶ ὀρθὰ καὶ
πεσόντα ὑπὸ πνεύματος, ὥστε πάλιν ἀνίστασθαι
καὶ ζῆν καὶ βλαστάνειν, οἷον ἰτέα καὶ πλάτανος.
ὅπερ συνέβη καὶ ἐν ᾿Αντάνδρῳ καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις"
ἐκπεσούσης γὰρ ὡς ἀπέκοψαν τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας
καὶ ἐπελέκησαν, ἀνεφύη νύκτωρ ἡ πλάτανος
κουφισθεῖσα τοῦ βάρους καὶ ἀνεβίω καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς
περιέφυ πάλιν. ͵παραπεπελεκημένη δ᾽ ἐτύγχανεν
ἐκ τῶν δύο μερῶν: ἣν δὲ τὸ δένδρον μέγα μῆκος
bY Phin 17. 250 πο 7: ΡΟ δ 1.8
hepa ἘΣ [Ὁ
3 ἄνωθεν καὶ conj. W.: καὶ ἄνωθεν Ald.
« of 1.3. 3% 1140]
408
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xv. 4-xv1. 2
soil, die even if the bark is not stripped all round.
This then, as has been said, is a universal cause of
death.
XVI. 1} The process which is called topping of
trees is fatal only to fir silver-fir Aleppo pine? and date-
palm, though some add prickly cedar and cypress.
These, if they are stripped of their foliage at the
top® and the crown is cut off, perish wholly and do
not shoot again, as is the case with some, if not with
all, if they are burnt. But all other trees shoot
again after being lopped, and some, such as the
olive, become all the fairer. However most trees
perish if the stem is split ;° for no tree seems able to
stand this, except vine fig pomegranate and apple;
and some perish even if they are wounded severely
and deeply. Some however take no harm ® from
this, as the fir when it is cut for tar, and those trees
from which the resins are collected, as silver-fir and
terebinth ; though these trees are in fact then deeply
wounded and mangled. Indeed they actually become
fruitful’ instead of barren, or are made to bear
plentifully instead of scantily.
Some trees again submit to being hewn both
when they are standing and when they have been
blown down, so that they rise up again and live and
shoot, for instance the willow and the plane. 8 This
was known to happen in Antandros and at Philippi ;
a plane in Antandros having fallen and had its boughs
lopped off and the axe applied to its trunk, grew
again in the night when thus relieved of the weight,
and the bark grew about it again. It happened that
it had been hewn two thirds of the way round; it
Cf ὉΠ. 55 ΤΟ 5 lim: 17.238) S Cf i@eile..0. 10: Ὁ:
1 popddes conj. Sch.; φορίδες Ald. ΕΠ 10.15.5:
409
THEOPHRASTUS
μὲν μεῖζον ἢ δεκάπηχυ, πάχος δ᾽ ὥστε μὴ ῥᾳδίως
ἂν περιλαβεῖν τέτταρας ἄνδρας. ἡ δὲ ἐν Φιλίπ-
Tots iTéa περιεκόπη μὲν τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας, οὐ μὴν
παρεπελεκήθη. μάντις δέ TLS ἔπεισεν αὐτοὺς
θυσίαν τε ποιεῖσθαι καὶ τηρεῖν τὸ δένδρον ὡς
σημεῖον ἀγαθὸν γεγονός. ἀνέστη δὲ καὶ ἐν
ταγείροις ἐν τῷ μουσείῳ λευκὴ τις ἐκπεσοῦσα.
Τῆς δὲ μήτρας ἐξαιρουμένης οὐθὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν
φθείρεται δένδρον. σημεῖον δὲ ὅτι πολλὰ κοῖλα
τῶν μέγεθος ἐχόντων δένδρων ἐστίν. οἱ δὲ περὶ
᾿Αρκαδίαν φασὶ μέχρι τινὸς μὲν ξῆν τὸ δένδρον,
τελέως δὲ ἐξ ἅπαντος ἐξαιρεθείσης καὶ πεύκην
φθείρεσθαι καὶ ἐλατην καὶ ἄλλο πᾶν.
Κοινὴ δὲ φθορὰ πάντων κἂν αἱ ῥίξαι περι-
κοπῶσιν ἢ πᾶσαι ἢ αἱ πλεῖσται καὶ μέγισται
καὶ κυριώταται τοῦ ζῆν. αὗται μὲν οὖν ἐξ
ἀφαιρέσεως.
Ἢ δ᾽ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐλαίου προσθέσει τινὶ μᾶλλον ἢ
ἀφαιρέσει" πολέμιον γὰρ δὴ καὶ τοῦτο πᾶσι" καὶ
ἔλαιον ἐπιχέουσι τοῖς ὑπολείμμασι, τῶν ῥιζῶν.
ἰσχύει δὲ μᾶλλον τὸ ἔλαιον ἐν τοῖς νέοις καὶ ἄρτι
φυομένοις" ἀσθενέστερα γάρ, δι’ ὃ καὶ ἅπτεσθαι
κωλύουσι.
Φθοραὶ δὲ καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἀχλήλων εἰσὶ τῷ παραι-
ρεῖσθαι τὰς τροφὰς καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐμποδίξειν.
χαλεπὸς δὲ καὶ ὁ κιττὸς παραφυύμενος, χαλεπὸς
δὲ καὶ ὁ κύτισος: ἀπόλλυσι γὰρ πάνθ᾽ ws εἰπεῖν'
1 τινὸς μὲν ζῆν τὸ δ. conj. W.; τινος ἐὰν (corrected) τοῦ δένδρου
υ; τινος ἐξῃρέθη τοῦ 8. MVAId.
® of. Phinv 17.958: CP. 6. 15,6;
3 πᾶσι: καὶ ἔλαιον ἐπιχέουσι conj. Sch.; πᾶσιν ἔλαιον ἐπιχεύ-
ovo UMP.Ald.
410
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xvi. 2-5
was a large tree, more than ten cubits high, and of
such girth that four men could not easily have
encircled it. The willow at Philippi which grew
again had had its branches lopped off, but the trunk
had not been hewn. A certain seer persuaded the
people to offer sacrifice and take care of the tree,
since what had occurred was a good omen. Also at
Stageira an abele in the school gardens which had
fallen got up again.
Hardly any tree is destroyed by taking out the
core ; a proof of which is the fact that many large
trees are hollow. The people of Arcadia say that
the tree under these circumstances lives for a time,!
but that, if the tree is entirely deprived of its core,
fir or silver-fir or any other tree perishes.
All trees alike are destroyed when the roots are cut
off, whether all or most of them, if those removed are
the largest and the most essential to life. Such
then are the causes of death which come from the
removal of a part of the tree.
On the other hand the destruction which oil ?
causes is due rather to a kind of addition than to
removal; for oil is hostile to all trees, and? so men
pour it * over what remains of the roots. However
oil is more potent with young trees which are just
growing; for then they are weaker; wherefore men
do not allow them to be touched at that time.
> Again trees may destroy one another, by robbing
them of nourishment and hindering them in other
ways. Again an overgrowth of ivy® is dangerous,’
and so is tree-medick, for this destroys almost any-
4 2,6. to complete the destruction of a tree. cf. Plut.
Quaest. Conv. 2. 6. 2.
5 Plin. 17. 239 and 240. OOM seine be 8
T χαλεπὸς δὲ καὶ Ald.; χαλεπὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶν conj. W.
ς
THEOPHRASTUS
, , \ 4 Ay oe > / BI
ἰσχυρότερον δὲ τούτου TO ἅλιμον' ἀπόλλυσι γὰρ
Ἀ /
TOV κύτισον.
/, A “-
Ἔνια δὲ οὐ φθείρει μὲν χείρω δὲ ποιεῖ ταῖς
δυνάμεσι τῶν χυλῶν καὶ τῶν ὀσμῶν, οἷον ἡ
ἘΠῚ Nee / A ” > /
papavos καὶ ἡ δάφνη τὴν ἄμπελον. ὀσφραίνεσθαι
, ae ou. a Nee eee, ς \
yap φασι καὶ ἕλκειν. δι ὃ καὶ ὅταν ὁ βλαστὸς
» / / > / \ > nr
πλησίον γένηται πάλιν ἀναστρέφειν καὶ ἀφορᾶν
e / ” a > a ? ὃ "ὃ δὲ
ὡς πολεμίας οὔσης τῆς ὀσμῆς. Ανὸροκύδης ὃὲ
καὶ παραδείγματι τούτῳ κατεχρήσατο πρὸς τὴν
n / \
βοήθειαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ῥαφάνου γινομένην πρὸς
\ ser ς > 4 \ 4 /
Tov οἶνον, ws ἐξελαύνουσαν τὴν μέθην: φεύγειν
\ \ \ la) \ ” \ 5 , «
γὰρ δὴ καὶ ζῶσαν τὴν ἄμπελον τὴν ὀσμήν. αἱ
n , \ /
μὲν οὖν φθοραὶ πῶς τε γίνονται Kal πόσαι Kal
rn an ὧν
ποσαχῶς φανερὸν ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων.
1 ἕλκει: lit. ‘draws it in’; cf. ἕλκειν ἀέρα, μέθυ, etc.
2 of. C.P. 2.18. 4. ὁ βλαστὺς πλησίον conj. Dalec. from G ;
ὁ πλησίον βλαστός Ald. H.
412
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xvi. 5-6
thing. But halimon is more potent even than this,
tor it destroys tree-medick.
Again some things, though they do not cause
death, enfeeble the tree as to the production of
flavours and scents; thus cabbage and sweet bay have
this effect on the vine. For they say that the vine
scents the cabbage and is infected! by it. Wherefore
the vine-shoot,? whenever it comes near this plant,
turns back and looks away,’? as though the smell
were hostile to it. Indeed Androkydes‘ used this
fact as an example to demonstrate the use of cabbage
against wine, to expel the fumes of drunkenness
ἴον, ὃ said he, even when it is alive, the vine avoids the
smell. It is now clear from what has been said
how the death of a tree may be caused, how many
are the causes of death, and in what several ways they
operate.
3 ἀφορᾶν conj. Sch.; εὐφορεῖν U; ἀφορεῖν Ald.; averti G;
recedere Plin. l.c.; ἐκχωρεῖν conj. W.
4 A medical man who preached temperance to Alexander ;
cf. Plin. 14. 58; 17. 240.
5 γὰρ δὴ καὶ conj. Dalec. from G; yap δεῖ καὶ Ald.
413
BOOK V
E
A A
I. Περὶ δὲ τῆς ὕλης, ποία τέ ἐστιν ἑκάστη,
, an ΄“
καὶ πόθ᾽ ὡραία τέμνεσθαι, καὶ πρὸς ποῖα τῶν
ἔργων χρησίμη, καὶ ποία δύσεργος ἢ εὔεργος, καὶ
Ui n ,
εἴ TL ἄλλο τῆς τοιαύτης ἱστορίας ἔχεται, πειρα-
id nm
τέον ὁμοίως εἰπεῖν.
4 a ͵ an 4
Ὡραῖα δὴ τέμνεσθαι τῶν ξύλων τὰ μὲν οὖν
στρογγύλα καὶ ὅσα πρὸς φλοϊσμὸν ὅταν βλα-
fe 4 , \ > , id 7% ͵ A ὃ)
στάνῃ" τότε γὰρ εὐπεριαίρετος ὁ φλοιός, ὃ δὴ
n ἴω x ς
καλοῦσι λοπᾶν, διὰ τὴν ὑγρότητα τὴν ὑπογινο-
a Qn ’ὔ
μένην αὐτῷ. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δυσπεριαίρετος καὶ
,
τὸ ξύλον μέλαν γίνεται Kal δυσειδές. τὰ δὲ
τετράγωνα μετὰ τὸν λοπητόν' ἀφαιρεῖται γὰρ
ς / \ / Ὁ. “ \
ἡ πελέκησις THY δυσείδειαν. ὅλως πᾶν πρὸς
’ a
ἰσχὺν ὡραιότατον οὐ μόνον πεπαυμένον τῆς
βλαστήσεως ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐκπεπᾶναν τὸν
\ Ἁ ee \
καρπόν. ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν φλοϊσμὸν ἀώροις οὗσιν
’ , an
ὡραίοις συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι τοῖς στρογγύλοις,
σ΄ ΕῚ /, e φ on / >
ὥστε ἐναντίαι αἱ ὧραι κατὰ συμβεβηκός. εὐ-
1 Plin. 16. 188. ses) aoe ee
3 δυσπεριαιρετός conj. Sch.; δυσπερικάθαρτος Ald.
416
BOOK V
Or THE TIMBER OF VARIOUS TREES AND ITS USES.
I. In like manner we must endeavour to speak of
timber, saying of what nature is that of each tree,
what is the right season for cutting it, which kinds
are hard or easy to work, and anything else that
belongs to such an enquiry.
Of the seasons of cutting.
1Now these are the right seasons for cutting
timber :—for ‘round’ timber and that whose bark is
to be stripped the time is when the tree is coming
into leaf. For then the bark is easily stripped
(which process they call ‘ peeling’ *) because of the
moisture which forms beneath it. At a later time it
is hard to strip,? and the timber obtained is black
and uncomely. However square logs can be cut
after the time of peeling, since trimming with the
axe removes the uncomeliness. In general any wood
is at the best season as to strength when it has not
merely ceased coming into leaf, but has even ripened
its fruit ; however on account of the bark-stripping
it comes to pass that ‘round’ timber is in season 4
when it is cut before it is ripe, so that, as it happens,
the seasons are here reversed. Moreover the wood
4 2,6. in practice the timber is cut before the ideally
proper time.
417
THEOPHRASTUS
, \ \ + LF / \ \
χρούστερα δὲ τὰ ἐλάτινα γίνεται κατὰ τὸν
a /
πρῶτον λοπήτοΟν.
3 \ \ / >
Ἐπεὶ δὲ μάλιστ ἢ μόνον περιαιροῦσι τὸν
φλοιὸν ἐλάτης πεύκης πίτυος, ταῦτα μὲν τέμνεται
τοῦ ἦρος" τότε γὰρ ἡ βλάστησις" τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ὁτὲ
μὲν μετὰ πυροτομίαν, ὁτὲ δὲ μετὰ τρυγητὸν καὶ
᾿Αρκτοῦρον, οἷον ἀρία πτελέα σφένδαμνος μελία
ζυγία ὀξύα φίλυρα φηγός τε καὶ ὅλως ὅσα
κατορύττεται" δρῦς δὲ ὀψιαίτατα, κατὰ χειμῶνα
/
μετὰ TO μετόπωρον: ἐὰν δὲ ὑπὸ τὸν λοπητὸν
τμηθῇ, σήπεται τάχιστα ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἐάν τε ἔμ-
»ῳῃ vy \ / \ \ 5
φλοίος ἐὰν τε ἀφλοιος" καὶ μάλιστα μὲν τὰ ἐν
τῷ πρώτῳ λοπητῷ, δεύτερα δὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ,
a /
τρίτα δὲ Kal ἥκιστα Ta ἐν τῷ TpiTw τὰ δὲ
μετὰ τὴν πέπανσιν τῶν καρπῶν ἄβρωτα διαμένει,
xX b / “ \ ¢ \ \ \ e /
κἂν ἀλόπιστα 7° πλὴν ὑπὸ τὸν φλοιὸν ὑποδυό-
a 4 \
μενοι σκώληκες ἐπιπολῆς ἐγγράφουσι τὸ στέλεχος,
οἷς καὶ σφραγῖσι χρῶνταί τινες" ὡραῖον δὲ τμη-
θὲν τὸ δρύϊνον ἀσαπές τε καὶ ἀθριπηδέστατον
γίνεται καὶ σκληρὸν καὶ πυκνὸν ὥσπερ κέρας"
πᾶν γὰρ ὅμοιόν ἐστιν ἐγκαρδίῳ: πλὴν τό γε τῆς
/ Lal
ἁλιφλοίου καὶ τότε φαῦλον.
Συμβαίνει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ὑπεναντίον, ὅταν τε
/
κατὰ τὴν βλάστησιν τέμνωνται Kal ὅταν μετα
τοὺς καρπούς. τότε μὲν γὰρ ἀναξηραίνεται τὰ
/ \ > / \ / N \
στελέχη καὶ ov βλαστάνει τὰ δένδρα: μετὰ δὲ
τοὺς καρποὺς παραβλαστάνει. δυστομώτερα δὲ
ec ces Maoh ες 2 4 add. Sch.
3 φηγός τε conj. Scal.; πηγός τε Ὁ; φηγόσιν τε); πηγόσιν
τε MAId.
4 κατορύττεται conj. Sch. from G3; ὀρύττεται Ald. ef. 5. 4. 8;
as as 5 Plin. 16. 189.
418
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V.1. 1-3
of the silver-fir is of a better colour at the time! of
the first peeling.
But since they strip the bark of? hardly any trees
except silver-fir fir and pine, these trees are cut in
the spring ; for then is the time of coming into leaf.
Other trees are cut sometimes after wheat-harvest,
sometimes after the vintage and the rising of
Arcturus, as aria (holm-oak) elm maple manna-ash
sygia beech lime Valonia οὐκ, and in general
all those whose timber is for underground use.
The oak is cut latest of all,in early winter at the end
of autumn. ‘If it is cut at the time of peeling, it
rots almost more quickly than at any other time,
whether it has the bark on or not. This is especially
so if it is cut during the first peeling, less so during
the second, and least during the third. What is cut
after the ripening of the fruit remains untouched by
worms, even if it has not peeled: however worms get
in under the bark and mark the surface of the stem,
and such marked pieces of wood some use as seals.®
Oak-wood if cut in the right season does not rot and
is remarkably free from worms, and its texture is
hard and close like horn; for it is like the heart of a
tree throughout, except that that of the kind called
sea-bark oak is even at that time of poor quality.’
Again, if the trees are cut at the time of coming
into leaf, the result is the opposite of that which
follows when they are cut after fruiting: for in the
former case the trunks dry up and the trees do not
sprout into leaf,’ whereas after the time of fruiting
they sprout at the sides. At this season however
5 cf. Ar. Thesm. 427: θριπήδεστα σφραγίδια.
* Cas ὃ. δ.
8 βλαστάνει M; παραβλαστάνει W. with Ald.
419
THEOPHRASTUS
διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα κατὰ ταύτην THY ὥραν.
κελεύουσι δὲ καὶ δεδυκυίας τῆς σελήνης τέμνει"
ὡς σκληροτέρων καὶ ἀσαπεστέρων γινομένων.
ἐπεὶ δὲ αἱ πέψεις τῶν καρπῶν παραλλάττουσι,
δῆλον ὅτι καὶ αἱ ἀκμαὶ πρὸς τὴν τομὴν παραλ-
λάττουσιν' ἀεὶ γὰρ ὀψιαίτεραι ai τῶν ὀψικαρ-
ποτέρων. δι’ ὃ καὶ πειρῶνταί τινες ὁρίζειν καθ᾽
ἑκάστην: οἷον πεύκην μὲν καὶ ἐλάτην ὅταν ὑπο-
λοπῶσιν' ἔτε δὲ ὀξύαν καὶ φίλυραν καὶ σφέν-
δαμνον καὶ ζυγίαν τῆς ὀπώρας: δρῦν δέ, ὥσπερ
εἴρηται, μετὰ τὸ φθινόπωρον. φασὶ δέ τινες
πεύκην ὡραίαν εἶναι τοῦ ἦρος, ὅταν γε ἔχη τὴν
καλουμένην κάχρυν, καὶ τὴν πίτυν ὅταν ὁ βότρυς
αὐτῆς ἀνθῇ. ποῖα μὲν οὖν ὡραῖα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον
χρόνον οὕτω διαιροῦνται. πάντων δὲ δῆλον ὅτι
βελτίω τὰ τῶν ἀκμαζόντων δένδρων ἢ τῶν νέων
κομιδῆ καὶ γεγηρακότων: τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὑδατώδη, τὰ
δὲ γεώδη.
Πλείστας δὲ χρείας καὶ μεγίστας ἡ ἐλάτη καὶ
ἡ πεύκη παρέχονται, καὶ ταῦτα κάλλιστα καὶ
μέγιστα τῶν ξύλων ἐστί. διαφέρουσι δὲ ἀλλήλων
ἐν πολλοῖς: ἡ μὲν γὰρ πεύκη σαρκωδεστέρα τε
καὶ ὀλιγόϊνος: ἡ δ᾽ ἐλάτη καὶ πολύϊνος καὶ
ἄσαρκος, ὥστε ἐναντίως ἑκάτερον ἔχειν τῶν
μερῶν, τὰς μὲν Was ἰσχυρὰς τὴν δὲ σάρκα
1 αἱ add. Sch.
2 ὑπολοπῶσιν conj. Sch.; εἰ πέλειν εἰσι U; ὑπελεινεισιν MV ;
ὑπελινῶσιν Ald.
3 ταύτην conj. St.; καὶ τὴν Ald. H.
420
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 3-5
they are harder to cut because the wood is tougher
It is also recommended to do the cutting when the
moon has set, since then the wood is harder and
less likely to rot. But, since the times when the
fruit ripens are different for different trees, it is
clear that the right moment for cutting also differs,
being later for those! trees which fruit later.
Wherefore some try to define the time for the
cutting of each tree; for instance for fir and silver-
fir the time is, they say, when they begin to peel?:
for beech lime maple and zygia in autumn; for oak,?
as has been said, when autumn is past. Some how-
ever say that the fir is ripe for cutting in spring,
when it has on τῷ the thing called “ catkin, 4 and the
pine when its ‘cluster’® is in bloom. Thus they
distinguish which trees are ripe for cutting at various
times; however it is clear that in all cases the wood
is better when the tree is in its prime than when it
is quite young or has grown old, the wood of quite
young trees being too succulent, and that of old ones
too full of mineral matter.
Of the wood of silver-fir and fir.
Silver-fir and fir are the most useful trees and in
the greatest variety of ways, and their® timber is
the fairest and largest. Yet they differ from one
another in many respects; the fir is fleshier and has
few fibres, while the silver-fir has many fibres and is
not fleshy, so that in respect of each component it is
the reverse of the other, having stout fibres? but soft
01. 1. bean Soe. δὲ. Ὁ:
5 2,6. the male inflorescence.
ὁ ταῦτα conj. Sch. from G; αὐτὰ Ald. H.
ef. 3.19) je Blin, 16: 184:
421
THEOPHRASTUS
μαλακὴν καὶ μανήν' δι ἢ τὸ μὲν βάρυ το δὲ
κοῦφον" τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἔνδᾳδον τὸ δὲ ἄδᾳδον, ἡ ἧ καὶ
6 λευκότερον. ἔχει δὲ καὶ ὄζους πλείους μὲν ἡ
πεύκη, σκληροτέρους δὲ ἡ ἡ ἐλάτη πολλῷ, μᾶλλον
δὲ καὶ σκληροτάτους πάντων" ἄμφω δὲ πυκνοὺς
καὶ κερατώδεις καὶ τῷ χρώματι ξανθοὺς καὶ
δᾳδώδεις. ὅταν δὲ τμηθῶσι, ῥεῖ καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς
ἐλάτης καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς πεύκης ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον
ὑγρότης καὶ μᾶλλον ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἐλάτης. ἔστι δὲ
καὶ πολύλοπον ἡ ἐλάτη, καθάπερ καὶ τὸ κρόμυον"
ἀεὶ γὰρ ἔχει τινὰ ὑποκάτω τοῦ φαινομένου, καὶ
7 ἐκ τοιούτων ἡ ὅλη. δι᾽ ὃ καὶ τὰς κώπας ξύοντες
ἀφαιρεῖν πειρῶνται καθ᾽ ἕνα καὶ ὁμαλῶς" ἐὰν γὰρ
οὕτως ἀφαιρῶσιν, ἰσχυρὸὲξ ὁ κωπεών, ἐὰν δὲ
παραλλάξωσι καὶ μὴ κατασπῶσιν ὁμοίως, ἀσθε-
νής" πληγὴ yap οὕτως, ἐκείνως δ᾽ ἀφαίρεσις. ἔστι
δὲ καὶ μακρότατον ἡ ἐλάτη καὶ ὀρθοφυέστατον.
δι᾽ ὃ καὶ τὰς κεραίας καὶ τοὺς ἱστοὺς ἐκ ταύτης
ποιοῦσιν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὰς φλέβας καὶ τὰς ivas
8 ἐμφανεστάτας πάντων. αὐξάνεται δὲ πρῶτον
εἰς μῆκος, ἄχρι οὗ δὴ ἐφίκηται τοῦ ἡλίου" καὶ
οὔτε ὄζος οὐδεὶς οὔτε παραβλάστησις οὔτε πάχος
γίνεται" μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἰς βάθος καὶ πάχος"
οὕτως αἱ τῶν ὄζων ἐκφύσεις καὶ παραβλαστήσεις.
1 τὸ μὲν γὰρ évd. conj. St. from G; ἐνδ. γὰρ Ald.
hts 5.9. ἢ:
8. κα. ἃ. 9. 7, μόνον οὐ διαφανεῖς, whence it appears that the
epithet refers to colour.
4 Plin. 16.195. δ᾽ t.e. the annual rings. ef.1. 5.2; 5. 5. 3.
© cf. Hom. Od. 12. 172.
7 κατασπῶσιν conj. W.; 3 κατὰ πᾶσιν UMV; κατὰ πάντα Ald.
* ef. Pin. 7:6. Meroe
19 ἐμφανέστατας conj. W.; εὐγενεστάτας Ald.
1 δὲ conj. Sch.; καὶ UAld.H.
422
—— ee Ὁ
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 5-8
tlesh of open texture. Wherefore the timber of the
one is heavy, of the other light, the one! being
resinous, the other without resin; wherefore also it
is whiter. Moreover the fir has more branches, but
those of the silver-fir are much tougher, or rather
they are tougher than those of any other tree; * the
branches of both however are of close texture,
horny,? and in colour brown and like resin-glutted
wood. 4 When the branches of either tree are cut,
sap streams from them for a considerable time, but
especially from those of the silver-fir. Moreover the
wood of the silver-fir has many layers, like an onion : ὃ
there is always another beneath that which is visible,
and the wood is composed of such layers throughout.
Wherefore, when men are shaving this wood to make
oars,® they endeavour to take off the several coats one
by one evenly: for, if they do this, they get a strong
spar, while if they do the work irregularly and do
not strip’ off the coats evenly, they get a weak one;
for the process in this case is hacking instead of
stripping. The silver-fir also gives timber of the
greatest lengths and of the straightest growth ;
wherefore yard-arms® and masts are made from it.
Also the vessels® and fibre are more clearly !° seen in
it than in any other tree. At first}! it grows in
height only, until it has reached !* the sunshine; and
so far there is no branch nor sidegrowth nor density
of habit; but after that the tree proceeds to increase
in bulk} and density of habit, as!* the outgrowing
branches and sidegrowths develop.
12 ἄχρι... ἐφίκηται conj. Sch.; ἄχρι οὗ δὴ κἀφίκηται U;
ἄχρις οὐκ ἀφίκηται MV; ἄχρις οὗ ἀχίκηται Ald. H.
15. δ΄. 4.1 A.
14 Lit. ‘this being the effect of the outgrowth.’ maxos:
οὕτως Ald.; πάχος, ὅταν conj. W.
423
9
10
11
THEOPHRASTUS
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἴδια τῆς ἐλάτης, τὰ δὲ κοινὰ καὶ
πεύκης καὶ ἐλάτης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων. ἔστι γὰρ ἡ
μὲν τετράξοος ἡ δὲ δίξοος. καλοῦσι δὲ τετραξόους
μὲν ὅσαις ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἐντεριώνης δύο κτη-
δόνες εἰσὶν ἐναντίαν ἔχουσαι τὴν φύσιν. ἔπειτα
καθ᾽ ἑκατέραν τὴν κτηδόνα ποιοῦνται τὴν πελέ-
κησιν ἐναντίας τὰς πληγὰς κατὰ κτηδόνα φέρον-
τες, ὅταν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἐντεριώνης ἡ πελέκησις
ἀναστρέφῃ. τοῦτο γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης συμβαίνει
διὰ τὴν φύσιν τῶν κτηδόνων. τὰς δὲ τοιαύτας
ἐλάτας καὶ πεύκας τετραξόους καλοῦσι. εἰσὶ δὲ
καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐργασίας αὗται κάλλισται" πυκνό-
τατα γὰρ ἔχουσι τὰ ξύλα καὶ τὰς αἰγίδας αὗται
φύουσιν. αἱ δίξοοι δὲ κτηδόνα μὲν ἔχουσι μίαν
ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἐντεριώνης, ταύτας δὲ ἐναντίας
ἀλλήλαις, ὥστε καὶ τὴν πελέκησιν εἶναι διπλῆν,
μίαν καθ᾽ ἑκατέραν κτηδόνα ταῖς πληγαῖς ἐναν-
τίαις: ἁπαλώτατα μὲν οὖν ταῦτά φασιν ἔχειν
τὰ ξύλα, χείριστα δὲ πρὸς τὰς ἐργασίας" δια-
στρέφεται γὰρ μάλιστα. μονοξόους δὲ καλοῦσι
τὰς ἐχούσας μίαν μόνον κτηδόνα' τὴν δὲ πελέ-
κησιν αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὴν αὐτὴν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα
τῆς ἐντεριώνης" φασὶ δὲ μανότατα μὲν ἔχειν τῇ
φύσει τὰ ξύλα ταῦτα πρὸς δὲ τὰς διαστροφὰς
ἀσφαλέστατα.
Διαφορὰς δὲ ἔχουσι τοῖς φλοιοῖς, καθ᾽ ἃς
/ > 4 > \ ss Lg \
γνωρίζουσιν ἰδόντες εὐθὺς τὸ δένδρον πεφυκὸς
1. Plin. 7.¢.
2 The meaning of ‘ four-cleft’ etc. seems to be this:
arg 4-Cleft. ey 2°Cleft: 4“ AeGlefe.
424
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 9-11
These are the characteristics peculiar to the silver-
fir. Others it shares with the fir and the other trees
of this class. 1For instance, sometimes a tree is
‘four-cleft,’ sometimes ‘ two-cleft’; it is called “ four-
cleft’ when on either side of the heart-wood there
are two distinct and diverse lines of fissure: in that
case the blows of the axe follow these lines in cases
where the hewing is stopped short on either side of
the heart-wood.? For the nature of the lines of fissure
compels the hewing to take this course. Silver-firs
or firs thus formed are said to be ‘ four-cleft.’ And
these are also the fairest trees for carpentry, their
wood being the closest and possessing the aigis.$
Those which are ‘two-cleft’ have one single line of
fissure on either side of the heart-wood, and the lines
of fissure do not correspond to each other, so that
the hewing also is performed by cuts which follow
the two lines of fissure, so as to reach the two sides
of the heart-wood at different angles. Now such
wood, they say, is the softest, but the worst for
carpentry, as it warps most easily. Those trees which
have only a single* continuous line of fissure are
said to be ‘one-cleft,’ though here too the cutting
is done from either side of the heart-wood: and such
wood has, they say, an open ® texture, and yet ° it is
not at all apt to warp.
7 There are also differences in the bark, by obser-
vation of which they can tell at once what the
3 of. 3. 9. 8. 4 μίαν conj. W.; μίαν δὲ P,Ald.
5 μανότατα conj. W.; μανότητα Ald.
ὃ τὰ ξύλα... τὰς conj. Sch.; τὰ ξύλα: ταῦτα δὲ πρὸς τὰς
ΑἸΙα.Η. 7 Plin. 16. 195 and 196.
425
THEOPHRASTUS
ποῖόν τί é€oTl τῶν μὲν yap εὐκτηδόνων Kal
ἀστραβῶν καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς λεῖος καὶ ὀρθός, τῶν
δ᾽ ἐναντίων τραχύς τε καὶ διεστραμμένος" ὁμοίως
δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. ἀλλ᾽ ἔστι τετράξοα
μὲν ὀλίγα μονόξοα δὲ πλείω τῶν ἄλλων. ἅπασα
δὲ ἡ ὕλη μείζων καὶ ὀρθοτέρα καὶ ἀστραβεστέρα
καὶ στιφροτέρα καὶ ὅλως καλλίων καὶ πλείων
ἡ ἐν τοῖς προσβορείοις, ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον
ἐλέχθη: καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ δένδρου δὲ τὰ πρὸς
βορρᾶν πυκνότερα καὶ νεανικώτερα. ὅσα δὲ
ὑποπαράβορρα καὶ ἐν περίπνῳ, ταῦτα στρέφει
καὶ παραλλάττει παρὰ μικρὸν ὁ βορέας, ὥστε
εἶναι παρεστραμμένην αὐτῶν τὴν μήτραν καὶ
12 οὐ κατ᾽ ὀρθόν. ἔστι δὲ ὅλα μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα
ἰσχυρὰ τμηθέντα δὲ ἀσθενῆ διὰ τὸ πολλὰς ἔχειν
παραλλαγάς. καλοῦσι δὲ οἱ τέκτονες ἐπίτομα
ταῦτα διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν οὕτω τέμνειν.
ὅλως δὲ χείρω τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἐφύγρων καὶ εὐ-
ιεινῶν καὶ παλισκίων καὶ συνηρεφῶν καὶ πρὸς
τὴν τεκτονικὴν χρείαν καὶ πρὸς τὴν πυρευ-
τικήν. αἱ μὲν οὖν τοιαῦται διαφοραὶ πρὸς τοὺς
τόπους εἰσὶν αὐτῶν τῶν ὁμογενῶν ὥς γε ἁπλῶς
εἰπεῖν.
a. Διαιροῦσι γάρ τινες κατὰ τὰς χώρας, καί
φασιν ἀρίστην μὲν εἶναι τῆς ὕλης πρὸς τὴν
τεκτονικὴν χρείαν τῆς εἰς τὴν “Ελλάδα Tapa.
γινομένης τὴν Μακεδονικήν' λεία τε γάρ ἐστι
καὶ ἀστραβὴς καὶ ἔχουσα θυῖον. δευτέραν δὲ
τὴν Ποντικήν, τρίτην δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ‘Puvddxou,
1 πεφυκὸς : ef. Xen. Cyr. 4. 8. 5.
3 ὑποπαράβορρα conj. St.; ὑπὸ παράβορρα Ald.; ὑπόβορρα ἢ
παράβορρα conj. Sch.
426
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V.1 11-1. 1
timber of the tree is like as it stands.! For if the
timber has straight and not crooked lines of fissure,
the bark also is smooth and regular, while if the
timber has the opposite character, the bark is rough
and twisted; and so too is it with other points.
However few trees are ‘four-cleft, and most of
those which are not are ‘one-cleft.’ All wood, as
was said before, which grows in a position facing
north, is bigger, more erect, of straighter grain,
tougher, and in general fairer and more abundant.
Moreover of an individual tree the wood on the
northward side is closer and more vigorous. But if
a tree stands sideways to the north? with a draught
round it, the north wind by degrees twists and con-
torts? it, so that its core becomes twisted instead of
running straight. The timber of such a tree while
still in one piece is strong, but, when cut, it is weak,
because the grain slants across the several pieces
Carpenters call such wood ‘short lengths,’ because
they thus cut it up for use. Again in general wood
which comes from a moist, sheltered, shady or con-
fined position is inferior both for carpentry and for
fuel. Such are the differences, generally * speaking,
between trees of the same kind as they are affected
by situation.
Of the effects on timber of climate.
II. 5Someindeed make adistinction betweenregions
and say that the best of the timber which comes into
Hellas for the carpenter's purposes is the Macedonian,
for it is smooth and of straight grain, and it contains
resin: second best is that from Pontus, third that
3 παραλλάττει conj. Dalec.; παραλλάγει U; παραλήγει Ald.;
παραλυγίζει conj. H. Steph.
4 ye conj. Sch.; δὲ Ald. δ Pin. 16. 1907
427
THEOPHRASTUS
τετάρτην δὲ τὴν Αἰνιανικήν'" χειρίστην. δὲ τήν τε
Παρνασιακὴν καὶ τὴν Εὐβοϊκήν' καὶ γὰρ ὀξώδεις
καὶ τραχείας καὶ ταχὺ σήπεσθαι. περὶ δὲ τῆς
᾿Αρκαδικῆς σκεπτέον.
᾿Ισχυρότατα δὲ τῶν ξύλων ἐστὶ τὰ aola καὶ
λεῖα: καὶ τῇ ὄψει δὲ ταῦτα κάλλιστα. ὀξώδη
δὲ γίνεται τὰ κακοτροφηθέντα καὶ ἤτοι χειμῶνι
πιεσθέντα ἢ καὶ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τοιούτῳ: τὸ γὰρ
ὅλον τὴν πολυοζίαν εἶναι ἔνδειαν εὐτροφίας.
ὅταν δὲ κακοτροφήσαντα ἀναλάβη πάλιν καὶ εὐ-
σθενήσῃ, συμβαίνει καταπίνεσθαι τοὺς ὄξους
ὑπὸ τῆς περιφύσεως" εὐτροφοῦν γὰρ καὶ αὐ-
ξανόμενον ἀναλαμβάνει καὶ πολλάκις ἔξωθεν
μὲν λεῖον 8 ξύλον διαιρούμενον δὲ ὀξῶδες
ἐφάνη. δι᾽ ὃ καὶ σκοποῦνται τῶν σχιστῶν τὰς
μήτρας: ἐὰν γὰρ αὗται ἔχωσιν ὄξους, ὀξώδη καὶ
τὰ ἐκτός" καὶ οὗτοι χαλεπώτεροι τῶν ἐκτὸς καὶ
φανεροί.
Γίνονται δὲ καὶ αἱ σπεῖραι διὰ χειμῶνας τε
καὶ κακοτροφίαν. σπείρας δὲ καλοῦσιν ὅταν ἢ
συστροφή τις ἐν αὐτῇ μείζων καὶ κύκλοις περι-
ἐχομένη πλείοσιν οὔθ᾽ ὥσπερ ὁ ὄξος ἁπλῶς οὔθ᾽
ὡς ἡ οὐλότης ἡ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ξύλῳ: δι’ ὅλου γάρ
πως αὕτη καὶ ὁμαλίζουσα: χαλεπώτερον δὲ
τοῦτο πολὺ καὶ δυσεργότερον τῶν ὄζων. ἔοικε
δὲ παραπλησίως καὶ ws ἐν τοῖς λίθοις ἐγγίνεσθαι
1 A river which flows into the Propontis on the Asiatic
side.
2 Near Mount Oeta. Αἰνιανικήν conj. Palm. from Plin.
| 6} αἰανικὴν P,Ald.H.
8 ταῦτα κάλλιστα" ὀζώδη δὲ conj. Scal.; ταῦτα καὶ μάλιστα
ὀζώδη γίν. Ald.H.; ταῦτα μάλιστα: ὀζώδη Ἢ γίν. Ὁ.
428
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. π΄ 1-3
from the Rhyndakos,! fourth that of the country
of the Ainianes,? worst is that of Parnassus and that
of Euboea, for it is full of knots and rough and
quickly rots. As to Arcadian timber the case is
doubtful.
Of knots and ‘ coiling’ in timber.
The strongest wood is that which is without knots
and smooth, and it is also the fairest in appearance.®
Wood becomes knotty when it has been ill nourished
and has suffered severely whether from winter or
some such cause; for in general a knotty habit is
supposed to indicate lack of nourishment. When
however, after being ill nourished, the tree recovers
and becomes vigorous, the result is that the knots
are absorbed‘ by the growth which now covers them ;
for the tree, being now well fed and growing
vigorously, recovers, and often the wood is smooth
outside, though when split it is seen to have knots.
And this is why they examine the core of wood that
has been split; for, if this contains knots, the out-
ward ὅ parts will also be knotty, and these knots are
harder to deal with than the outer ones, and are
easily recognised.
6¢ Coiling’ of the wood is also due to winter or ill
nourishment. Wood is said to ‘coil’ when there is
in it closer twisting’ than usual, made up of an
unusual number of rings: this is not quite like a knot,
nor is it like the ordinary curling of the wood, which
runs right through it and is uniform. ‘Coiling’ is
much more troublesome and difficult to deal with than
knots; it seems to correspond to the so-called
4 καταπίνεσθαι : ? καταλαμβάνεσθαι. cf. below, §3.
5 2,6. outward in regard to the core. 6 Plin. 16. 198.
7 ἢ συστροφή conj. Scal.; f εὐστροφή U; ἣ εὐτραφῆ Ald. ete.
429
THEOPHRASTUS
\ £ , “ > EN /
Ta καλούμενα κέντρα. ὅτι δ᾽ ἡ περίφυσις κατα-
λαμβάνει τοὺς ὄζους φανερώτατον ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς
» / > \ b \ \ > a ”
αἰσθήσεως, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ Kal ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων
lal « x lal an
TOV ὁμοίων: πολλάκις yap αὐτοῦ τοῦ δένδρου
/ e \ / \
μερος TL συνελήφθη ὑπὸ θατέρου συμφυοὺς yevo-
/ \ TA ᾽ 4 a / > ΄-
μένου: καὶ ἐάν τις ἐκγχλύψας θῇ λίθον εἰς τὸ
δένδρον ἢ καὶ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον, κατακρύπτεται
\ € \ Qn / “ \ \
περιληφθὲν ὑπὸ τῆς περιφύσεως' ὅπερ καὶ περὶ
τὸν κότινον συνέβη τὸν ἐν Μεγάροις τὸν ἐν τῇ
ἀγορᾷ" οὗ καὶ ἐκκοπέντος λόγιον ἦν ἁλῶναι καὶ
an , δ
διαρπασθῆναι τὴν πόλιν: ὅπερ ἐγένετο. ...
΄ δὴ
Δημήτριος. ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ διασχιζομένῳ κνη-
a ς / \ Μ > ” an » a
μῖδες εὑρέθησαν καὶ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα τῆς ᾿Αττικῆς
la /
ἐργασίας κρεμαστά, τοῦ κοτίνου ov ἀνετέθη τὸ
lal / 4
πρῶτον ἐγκοιλανθέντος. τούτου δ᾽ ἔτι μικρὸν
/ a \ 7
τὸ λοιπόν. πολλαχοῦ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοθι γίνεται
, a a ’ “
πλείονα τοιαῦτα. καὶ ταῦτα μέν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται
\
κοινὰ πλειόνων.
\ J
III. Kata δὲ tas ἰδίας ἑκάστου φύσεις at
a / a¢ ΄
τοιαῦταί εἰσι διαφοραί, οἷον πυκνότης μανότης
, / ,
βαρύτης κουφότης σκληρότης μαλακότης, ὡσαύ-
\ \ v ” A \ \ δ ,
τως δὲ καὶ εἴ Tis ἄλλη τοιαύτη" κοιναὶ δὲ ὁμοίως
“ / “ ’,
αὗται καὶ τῶν ἡμέρων καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων, ὥστε περὶ
/
πάντων λεκτέον.
1 ὅτι δ᾽ ἡ conj. W.; ὅτι δὴ UMV; ὅτι δὲ Ald.
2 ef. καταπίνεσθαι, above, § 2.
3 Plin. 16. 198 and 199.
ἐκγλύψας θῇ conj. W.; ἐκλύψας θῆι Ὁ ; ἐκλιθασθῇ Ald. H.
Text defective.
t.e. the bark had grown over these. cf. Plin. dc.
430
aon e
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. τι. 3-111. 1
‘centres’ which occur in marbles, That! vigorous
growth covers? up the knots is plain from simple
observation of the fact and also from other similar
instances. ?For often some part of the tree itself is
absorbed by the rest of the tree which has grown
into it; and again, if one makes a hole in a tree and
puts? a stone into it or some other such thing, it
becomes buried, being completely enveloped by the
wood which grows all round it: this happened with
the wild olive in the market-place at Megara ; there
was an oracle that, if this were cut open, the city
would be taken and plundered, which came to pass
when Demetrius took 1.5 For, when this tree was
split open, there were found greaves and certain
other things ® of Attic workmanship hanging there,
the hole’ in the tree having been made at the place
where the things were originally hung on it as offer-
ings. Of this tree a small part still exists, and in
many other places further instances haye occurred.
Moreover, as has been said, such occurrences happen
also with various other trees.
Of differences in the texture of different woods.
III. 8 Corresponding to the individual characters of
the several trees we have the following kinds of
differences in the wood :—it differs in closeness,
heaviness, hardness or their opposites, and in other
similar ways; and these differences are common to
cultivated and wild trees. So that we may speak of
all trees without distinction.
7 ἐργασίας κρεμαστὰ τοῦ κοτίνου ov I conj. from G and
Plin. l.c. (certain restoration perhaps impossible) ; κερμηστι 8
ἐστιν ἐν κοτίνῳ: οὗ U; Ald. has κερμηστὶ, M κρεμαστὶ, V κερ-
μάστων ; St. suggested κρεμαστῶν ὅπλων as words of the
original text, 8 Plin. 16. 204-207.
431
THEOPHRASTUS
Πυκνότατα μὲν οὖν δοκεῖ καὶ βαρύτατα πύξος
εἶναι καὶ ἔβενος" οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος
ταῦτ᾽ ἐπινεῖ. καὶ ἡ μὲν πύξος ὅλη, τῆς δὲ ἐβένου
ἡ μήτρα, ἐν 7) καὶ ἡ τοῦ χρώματός ἐστι μελανία.
τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων ὁ λωτός. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ ἡ τῆς δρυὸς
μήτρα, ἣν καλοῦσι μελάνδρυον' καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἡ
τοῦ κυτίσου: παρομοία γὰρ αὕτη δοκεῖ τῇ ἐβένῳ
εἶναι.
Μέλαν δὲ σφόδρα καὶ πυκνὸν το τῆς τερ-
μίνθου" περὶ γοῦν Συρίαν μελάντερόν φασιν
εἶναι TAS ἐβένου: καὶ ἐκ τούτου yap Kal τὰς
λαβὰς τῶν ἐγχειριδίων ποιεῖσθαι, τορνεύεσθαι
δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ κύλικας Θηρικλείους, ὥστε
μηδένα ἂν διαγνῶναι πρὸς τὰς κεραμέας" λαμ-
ΑἹ τῶν δὲ τὸ ἐγκάρδιον: δεῖν δὲ ἀλείφειν τὸ
ξύλον: οὕτω γὰρ γίνεσθαι καὶ κάλλιον καὶ
μελάντερον.
Εἶναι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τί δένδρον, ὃ ἅμα τῇ μελανίᾳ
καὶ ποικιλίαν τινὰ ἔχει ὑπέρυθρον, ὥστε εἶναι
τὴν ὄψιν ὡσὰν ἐβένου ποικίλης" ποιεῖσθαι δ᾽ ἐξ
αὐτοῦ καὶ κλίνας καὶ δίφρους καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ
σπουδαζόμενα. τὸ «δὲ» δένδρον μέγα σφόδρα
καὶ καλόφυλλον. εἶναι ὅμοιον ταῖς ἀπίοις.
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἅμα τῇ ᾿μελανίᾳ καὶ πυκνο-
TTA ἔχει. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ ἡ σφένδαμνος καὶ
ἡ ζυγία καὶ ὅλως πάντα τὰ οὗλα" καὶ ἡ ἐλάα
δὲ καὶ ὁ κότινος, ἀλλὰ κραῦρα. μανὰ δὲ τῶν
μὲν ἀγρίων καὶ ἐρεψίμων τὰ ἐλάτινα μάλιστα,
1 ef. Arist. Meteor. 4. 7 ad fin.
2.6f; oan, ef. 9.18: 9.
4 Probably so called from their resemblance in shape and
432
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. m. 1-3
Box and ebony seem to have the closest and
heaviest wood ; for their wood does not even float on
water. This applies to the box-tree as a whole, and
to the core of the ebony, which contains the black
pigment.' The nettle-tree also is very close and heavy,
and so is the core of the oak, which is called ‘heart
of oak,’ and to a still greater degree this is true
of the core of laburnum 2; for this seems to resemble
the ebony.
The wood of the terebinth is also very black and
close-grained ; at least in Syria® they say that it is
blacker than ebony, that in fact they use it for making
their dagger handles; and by means of the lathe-
chisel they also make of it ‘Theriklean’ cups,‘ so
that no one could ὅ distinguish these from cups made
of pottery ; for this purpose they use, it is said, the
heart-wood, but the wood has to be oiled, for then
it becomes comelier and blacker.
There is also, they say, another tree® which, as
well as the black colour, has a sort of reddish
variegation, so that it looks like variegated ebony,
and of it are made beds and couches and other things
of superior quality. This tree is very large and has
handsome leaves and is like the pear.
These trees then, as well as the black colour, have
close wood ; so also have maple zygia and in general
all those that are of compact growth; so also have
the olive and the wild olive, but their wood is
brittle.” Of wild trees which are used for roof-
timbers the wood of the silver-fir is the least com-
colour to the cups made by Therikles, a famous Corinthian
potter ; see reff. to comedy in LS. s.v.
δ᾽ μηδένα ἂν conj. W.; μηδ᾽ ἂν ἕνα Ald.
6 Sissoo wood. See Index App. (21).
ἴ ἀλλὰ κραῦρα conj. Sch.; ἀλλὰ καὶ αὔρα MVAId.
433
THEOPHRASTUS
τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων τὰ ἄκτινα Kal τὰ σύκινα καὶ
τὰ τῆς μηλέας καὶ τὰ τῆς δάφνης. σκλη-
ρότατα δὲ τὰ δρύϊνα καὶ τὰ ζύγινα καὶ τὰ
τῆς ἀρίας: καὶ γὰρ ὑποβρέχουσι ταῦτα πρὸς
τὴν τρύπησιν μαλάξεως χάριν. μαλακὰ δὲ
καθ᾽ ὅλου μὲν τὰ μανὰ καὶ χαῦνα: τῶν δὲ
σαρκωδῶν “μάλιστα φίλυρα. δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ θερ-
μότατον εἶναι τοῦτο: σημεῖον δὲ ὅτι μάλιστα
ἀμβλύνει τὰ σιδήρια: τὴν γὰρ βαφὴν ἀνίησι διὰ
τὴν θερμότητα.
Θερμὸν δὲ καὶ κιττὸς καὶ δάφνη καὶ ὅλως
ἐξ ὧν. τὰ πυρεῖα γίνεται: Μενέστωρ δέ φησι
καὶ συκάμινον. ψυχρότατα δὲ τὰ ἔνυδρα καὶ
ὑδατώδη. καὶ γλίσχρα δὲ τὰ ἰἐτέϊνα καὶ ἀμ-
πέλινα, δι᾽ ὃ καὶ τὰς ἀσπίδας ἐκ τούτων ποιοῦσι"
συμμύει γὰρ πληγέντα" κουφότερον δὲ τὸ τῆς
ἰτέας, μανότερον γάρ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τούτῳ μᾶλλον
χρῶνται. τὸ δὲ τῆς πλατάνου γλισχρότητα μὲν
ἔχει, φύσει δὲ ὑγρότερον τοῦτο καὶ τὸ τῆς πτε-
λέας. σημεῖον δέ ἐστιν, μετὰ τὴν τομὴν ὀρθὸν
ὅταν σταθῇ, πολὺ ὕδωρ ἀφίησι. τὸ δὲ τῆς συκα-
μίνου πυκνὸν ἅμα καὶ γλίσχρον.
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἀστραβέστατον τὸ τῆς πτελεας,
δ ὃ καὶ τοὺς στροφεῖς τῶν θυρῶν ποιοῦσι
πτελεΐνους" ἐὰν γὰρ οὗτοι μένωσι, καὶ αἱ θύραι
μένουσιν ἀστραβεῖς, εἰ δὲ μή, διαστρέφονται.
ποιοῦσι δ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἔμπαλιν τιθέντες τὰ ξύλα τό
τε ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ φύλλου:
1 ὑποβρέχουσι conj. Harduin from Plin. 10. 207 ; ἀποβρίθουσι
Ald.H.; ἀποβρέχουσι mBas.
* ef. 5. 5. 1, which, referring to this passage, hardly agrees
with it as now read.
434
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V πι. 3-5
pact, and among others that of the elder fig apple
and bay. The hardest woods are those of the oak
zygia and aria (holm-oak); in fact men wet! these
to soften them for boring holes. In general, woods
which are of open porous texture are soft, and of
those of fleshy texture the softest is the lime. The
last-named seems also to be the hottest; the proof
of which is that it blunts iron tools more than any
other; for they lose their edge? by reason of its
heat.
Ivy and bay are also hot woods, and so in general
are those used for making fire-sticks ; and Menestor ®
adds the wood of the mulberry. *The coldest woods
are those which grow in water and are of succulent
character. The wood again of willow and vine is
tough; wherefore men make their shields of these
woods ; for they close up again after a blow; but
that of the willow is lighter, since it is of less com-
pact texture; wherefore they use this for choice.
The wood of the plane is fairly tough, but it is
moister in character, as also is that of the elm. A
proof of this is that, if it is set upright® after being
cut, it discharges much water.6 The wood of the
mulberry is at once of close grain and tough.
7 The wood of the elm is the least likely to warp ;
wherefore they make the ‘hinges’ ® of doors out of
elm wood ; for, if these hold, the doors also keep in
place; otherwise they get wrenched out of place.
They make the ‘hinges’ by putting wood from the
root above® and wood “ from the foliage’ below,® thus
3 of. 1,2. 3n. 4 Plin. 16. 209.
5 ὀρθὸν ὅταν conj. W.: soG; ὀρθὸς ὅταν MV; ὅταν ὀρθὰ Ald.
ὁ of.5.1.6. 7 Plin. 16. 210.
8 Sc. an arrangement of cylindrical pivot and socket.
"δε. as socket and pivot respectively ; cf. 5. 5. 4.
435
THEOPHRASTUS
a eee e / a
καλοῦσι δὲ οἱ τέκτονες TO ἀπὸ TOD φύλλου TO
» > / \ >) / e /
ἄνω: ἐναρμοσθέντα yap ἀλλήλοις ἑκάτερον Kw-
\ e \
λύει πρὸς τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐναντίως ἔχον. εἰ δὲ ἔκειτο
V4 - \ lal
κατὰ φύσιν, οὗπερ ἡ ῥοπὴ ἐνταῦθα πάντων ἂν
4 e VA
ἣν ἡ φορά.
\ \ is 3 ᾽ \ “ > \
Tas δὲ θύρας οὐκ εὐθὺς συντελοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ
πήξαντες ἐφιστᾶσι, κἄπειτα ὑστέρῳ οἱ δὲ τῷ
/ yy / aN an /
τρίτῳ ἔτει συνετέλεσαν ἐὰν μᾶλλον σπουδάζωσι:
an \ \ / / of.
τοῦ μὲν yap θέρους ἀναξηραινομένων διΐστανται,
fa) a / ht κὰν “
τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος συμμύουσιν. αἴτιον δ᾽ ὅτι τῆς
᾽ / \ x \ J . A 5. ἢ
ἐλάτης τὰ μανὰ καὶ σαρκώδη ἕλκει τὸν ἀέρα
ἔνικμον ὄντα.
a \ Qn lal \ /
O δὲ φοῖνιξ κοῦφος καὶ evepyos καὶ μαλακός,
ς / / la no /
ὥσπερ ὁ perros, βελτίων δὲ τοῦ φελλοῦ ὅτι γλί-
an \ a \
σχρος" ἐκεῖνο δὲ θραυστόν. διὰ τοῦτο τὰ εἴδωλα
la} > n lal / a \ \ \
νῦν ἐκ τοῦ τῶν φοινίκων ποιοῦσι, Tov δὲ φελλὸν
/ \ ων \ > ae ” οὐ ων. \
παρήκασι. τὰς ἶνας δὲ ov du ὅλου ἔχει OVO ἐπὶ
\ \ fal
πολὺ καὶ μακρὰς οὐδ᾽ ὡσαύτως TH θέσει ἐγκει-
/ \ a
μένας πάσας ἀλλὰ παντοδαπῶς. ἀναξηραίνεται
, / \
δὲ καὶ λεαινόμενον Kal πριόμενον TO ξύλον.
\ / e a
To δὲ θύον, οἱ δὲ θύαν καλοῦσι, Tap Αμμωνι
/ \ ᾽ a / \ \ \
TE γίνεται καὶ ἐν TH Κυρηναίᾳ, τὴν μὲν μορφὴν
uA \ a / \ a /
ὅμοιον κυπαρίττῳ καὶ τοῖς κλάδοις Kal τοῖς PUA-
\ a / \ fal A a ’
λοις καὶ τῷ στελέχει καὶ τῷ καρπῷ, μᾶλλον ὃ
7,
ὥσπερ κυπάριττος ἀγρία' πολὺ μὲν καὶ ὅπου
1 κωλύει : Sch. adds θάτερον from G.
2 ἔκειτο conj. W.; ἐκεῖνο Ald,
3 2.6. the ‘upper’ wood in the upper position.
4 πάντων MSS. (3) ; πάντως conj. W.
5 7.e. there would be no resistance. ἦν after ἂν add. Sch.
436
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 11. 5-7
reversing the natural position: (by wood ‘ from the
foliage’ joiners mean the upper wood). For, when
these are fitted the one into the other, each counter-
acts! the other, as they naturally tend in opposite
directions: whereas, if the wood were set? as it
grows,* all the parts* would give where the strain
came.°
(They do not finish off the doors at once ; but, when
they have put them together, stand them up, and
then finish them off the next year, or sometimes the
next year but one, if they are doing specially good
work. For in summer, as the wood dries, the work
comes apart, but it closes in winter. The reason is
that the open fleshy texture of the wood of
the silver-fir’ drinks in the air, which is full of
moisture.)
8 Palm-wood is light easily worked and soft like
cork-oak, but is superior to that wood, as it is tough,
while the other is brittle. Wherefore men now make
their images of palm-wood and have given up the
wood of cork-oak. However the fibres do not run
throughout the wood, nor do they run to a good
length, nor are they all set symmetrically, but run
in every direction. The wood dries while it is being
planed and sawn.
9 Thyon (thyine wood), which some call thya, grows
near the temple of Zeus Ammon and in the district
of Cyrene. In appearance the tree is like the
cypress alike in its branches, its leaves, its stem, and
its fruit ; or rather it is like a wild cypress.!° There
Clef. Elin: 1G; Zio:
7 Of which the door itself is made.
2 Phin 16,210: ® Plin. 13. 100-102.
10 κυπάριττος ἀγρία conj. Sch.; κυπάρισσον ἀγρίαν MAId.
437
THEOPHRASTUS
a e , > / \ ” ,
νῦν ἡ πόλις ἐστί, καὶ ἔτι διαμνημονεύουσιν
a \
ὀροφάς τινας τῶν ἀρχαίων οὔσας. ἀσαπὲς yap
“ A 7 > / \ \ £7 > ’ Ν
ὅλως τὸ ξύλον οὐλότατον δὲ τὴν ῥίζαν ἐστί" καὶ
\ a a
ἐκ ταύτης τὰ σπουδαιότατα ποιεῖται τῶν ἔργων.
τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματα γλύφουσιν ἐκ τῶνδε, κέδρων
/ “ / \ ? > / \ >
κυπαρίττου λωτοῦ TVEOU: τὰ δ᾽ ἐλάττω Kal ἐκ
τῶν ἐλαΐνων ῥιζῶν: ἀρραγεῖς γὰρ αὗται καὶ
ὁμαλῶς πως σαρκώδεις. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἰδιό-
’ \ 4 /
τητά τινα τόπων Kal φύσεως Kal γχρείας
ἀποδηλοῖ.
“ a a a ͵
IV. Βαρέα δὲ καὶ κοῦφα δῆλον ὡς τῇ πυκνό-
/ / /
τητι καὶ μανότητι Kal ὑγρότητι Kal ξηρότητι καὶ
a / / ‘ ,
τῷ γλοιώδει Kal σκληρότητι καὶ μαλακότητι
/ ” \ 2 ¢ \ \ 7
ληπτέον. ἔνια μὲν οὖν ἅμα σκληρὰ καὶ βαρέα,
καθάπερ πύξος καὶ δρῦς: ὅσα δὲ κραῦρα καὶ τῇ
Ces}
Enpotntt σκληρότατα, ταῦτ᾽ οὐκ ἔχει βάρος.
\ a
ἅπαντα δὲ Ta ἄγρια τῶν ἡμέρων καὶ TA ἄρρενα
a a / / /
τῶν θηλειῶν πυκνότερά TE καὶ σκληρότερα Kai
/
βαρύτερα Kai TO ὅλον ἰσχυρότερα, καθάπερ καὶ
πρότερον εἴπομεν. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν καὶ τὰ
, lal ’ \ / lal
ἀκαρπότερα τῶν καρπίμων καὶ τὰ χείρω τῶν
καλλικαρποτέρων' εἰ μή που καρπιμώτερον τὸ
Μ Ὁ » ’ \ \ /
ἄρρεν, ὥσπερ ἄλλα TE φασι Kal τὴν κυπάριττον
\ Ἁ rf > \ a b) ,
καὶ τὴν κράνειαν. ἀλλὰ τῶν γε ἀμπέλων φα-
“ ,
νερῶς αἱ ὀλιγοκαρπότεραι Kal πυκνοφθαλμότεραι
\ ΄ Ν a \ \ a »
καὶ στερεωτεραι" καὶ μηλεὼν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
ἡμέρων.
438
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 7-1v. 1
is abundance of it where now the city stands, and
men can still recall that some of the roofs in ancient
times were made of it. For the wood is absolutely
proof against decay, and the root is of very compact
texture, and they make of it the most valuable
articles. Images are carved from these woods,
prickly cedar cypress nettle-tree box, and the small
ones also from the roots of the olive, which are
unbreakable and of a more or less uniformly fleshy
character. The above facts illustrate certain
special features of position, natural character and
use,
Of differences in timber as to hardness and heaviness.
IV. Difference in weight is clearly to be determined
by closeness or openness of texture, dampness or
dryness, degree of glutinousness, hardness or softness.
Now some woods are both hard and heavy, as box
and oak, while those that are brittle and hardest
owing to their dryness, are not heavy. ! All wood of
wild trees, as we have said before, is closer harder
heavier, and in general stronger than that of the
cultivated forms, and there is the same difference
between the wood of ‘male’ and of ‘female’ trees,
and in general between trees which bear no fruit and
those which have fruit, and between those which
bear inferior fruit and those whose fruit is better; on
the other hand occasionally the ‘male’ tree is the
more fruitful, for instance, it is said, the cypress the
cornelian cherry and others. However of vines it is
clear that those which bear less fruit have also more
frequent knots and are more solid,? and so too with
apples and other cultivated trees.
1 Plin, 16, 211. 2 fC. P. 3311. 1.
439
THEOPHRASTUS
᾿Ασαπῆ δὲ φύσει κυπάριττος κέδρος ἔβενος
/
λωτὸς πύξος ἐλάα κότινος πεύκη ἔνδᾳδος apia
“ “ ’ὔ
δρῦς καρύα Εὐβοϊκή. τούτων δὲ χρονιώτατα
a / 3 an 3 ᾽ /
δοκεῖ τὰ κυπαρίττινα εἶναι: Ta γοῦν ἐν ᾿Εφέσῳ,
“ / ,
ἐξ ὧν ai θύραι τοῦ νεωστὶ vew, τεθησαυρισμένα
/ Ν ,
τέτταρας ἔκειτο γενεάς. μόνα δὲ καὶ στιλβηδόνα
> \ fal
δέχεται, δι’ ὃ Kal τὰ σπουδαζόμενα τῶν ἔργων ἐκ
val an / /
τούτων ποιοῦσι. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ἀσαπέστατον
\
μετὰ τὰ κυπαρίττινα Kal τὰ θυώδη τὴν συκά-
/ > x 7 ν
μινον εἶναί φασι, καὶ ἰσχυρὸν ἅμα καὶ εὔεργον τὸ
ξύλον: γίνεται δὲ τὸ ξύλον [καὶ] παλαιούμενον
t
μέλαν, ὥσπερ λωτός.
i
"Ett δὲ ἄλλο πρὸς ἄλλο Kal ἐν ἄλλῳ ἀσαπές,
a / a \
οἷον πτελέα μὲν ἐν TO ἀέρι, δρῦς δὲ κατορυτ-
\ > a “ / a
τομένη Kal ἐν τῷ ὕδατι καταβρεχομένη" δοκεῖ
¢e 5 τς > \
yap ὅλως ἀσαπὲς εἶναι" δι᾿ ὃ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ποτα-
\ ¥. 2 7 “,
μοὺς καὶ εἰς τὰς λίμνας ἐκ τούτων ναυπηγοῦσιν'
a \ \
ἐν δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ σήπεται. Ta δὲ ἄλλα διαμένει
n ¢ \ / a
μᾶλλον, ὅπερ καὶ εὔλογον, ταριχευόμενα TH
ἅλμῃ.
A \ \ ς ’ 7 Ν \ Ὁ“ ᾽ \
Δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ ὀξύη πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ ἀσαπὴς
* \ , , , Neb se
εἶναι καὶ βελτίων γίνεσθαι βρεχομένη. Kal ἡ
/ Nog se > o \ b / \ \ \ \
καρύα δὲ ἡ Εὐβοϊκὴ ἀσαπής. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν
/ ᾿ / n Ὁ \ , ᾽ /
πεύκην ἐλάτης μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τερηδόνος ἐσθίεσθαι:"
Ν \ * \ /
τὴν μὲν yap εἷναι ξηράν, τὴν δὲ πεύκην ἔχειν
΄ \ @ > / a vA
YAUKUTNTA, καὶ ὁσῳ ἐνδᾳδωτέρα, μᾶλλον: πάντα
Δ Phin. 10. 213,
2 τεθησαυρισμένα. .. ἔκειτο conj. Bentley; τεθησαυρισμένα
... ἔκειντο Ald.H.; P has ἔκειτο
440
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. ιν. 2-4
Of differences in the keeping quality of timber.
1 Naturally proof against decay are cypress prickly
cedar ebony nettle-tree box olive wild olive resinous
fir aria (holm-oak) oak sweet chestnut. Of these the
wood of the cypress seems to last longest; at least
the cypress-wood at Ephesus, of which the doors
of the modern temple were made, lay stored up?
for four generations. And this is the only wood
which takes a fine polish, wherefore they make of it
valuable articles. Of the others the least liable to
decay after the wood of the cypress and thyine-wood
is, they say, that of the mulberry, which is also
strong and easily worked : when it becomes old, this
wood turns black like that of the nettle-tree.
3 Again whether a given wood is not liable to
decay may depend on the purpose to which it is put
and the conditions to which it is subjected : thus the
elm does not decay if exposed to the air, nor the oak
if it is buried or soaked in water ; for it appears to be
entirely proof against decay: wherefore they build
vessels of it for use on rivers and on lakes, but in sea-
water it rots, though other woods last all the
better ; which is natural, as they become seasoned with
the brine.
*The beech also seems to be proof against decay in
water and to be improved by being soaked. The
sweet chestnut under like treatment is also proof
against decay. ‘They say that the wood of the fir
is more liable to be eaten by the ¢eredon than that
of the silver-fir; for that the latter is dry, while the
fir has a sweet taste, and that this is more so, the
more the wood is soaked with resin®; they go on to
3 Plin. 16. 218. 4 Plin. 16, 218 and 219,
S cfr 8: 91. 4,
441
THEOPHRASTUS
δ᾽ ἐσθίεσθαι τερηδόνι πλὴν κοτίνου και ἐλάας:
\
τὰ δὲ οὔ, διὰ τὴν πικρότητα. ἐσθίεται δὲ τὰ μὲν
ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ σηπόμενα ὑπὸ τερηδόνος, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν
τῇ γῇ ὑπὸ σκωλήκων καὶ ὑπὸ θριπῶν' οὐ yap
γίνεται τερηδὼν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ. ἔστι δὲ
ἡ τερηδὼν τῷ μὲν μεγέθει μικρόν, κεφαλὴν δ᾽ ἔχει
μεγάλην καὶ ὀδόντας" οἱ δὲ θρίπες ὅμοιοι τοῖς
σκώληξιν, ὑφ᾽ ὧν τιτραίνεται κατὰ μικρὸν τὰ
ξύλα. καὶ ἔστι ταῦτα εὐΐατα' πιττοκοπηθέντα
yap ὅταν εἰς τὴν θάλατταν ἑλκυσθῇ στέγει: τὰ
δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν τερηδόνων ἀνίατα. τῶν δὲ σκωλήκων
τῶν ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις οἱ μέν εἰσιν ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας
σήψεως, οἱ δ᾽ ἐντικτόντων ἑτέρων: ἐντίκτει γάρ,
ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖς δένδροις, ὁ κεράστης καλούμενος,
ὅταν τιτράνῃ καὶ κουλάνῃ περιστραφεὶς ὡσπερεὶ
μυοδόχον. φεύγει δὲ τά τε ὀσμώδη καὶ πικρὰ καὶ
σκληρὰ διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι τιτρᾶναι, καθάπερ
τὴν πύξον. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐλάτην φλοϊσθεῖσαν
ὑπὸ τὴν βλάστησιν ἀσαπῆ διαμένειν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι:
φανερὸν δὲ γενέσθαι ἐν Φενεῷ τῆς ᾿Αρκαδίας, ὅτε
αὐτοῖς ἐλιμνώθη τὸ πεδίον φραχθέντος τοῦ βερέ.-
θρου" τότε γὰρ τὰς γεφύρας ποιοῦντες ἐλατίνας
καί, ὅταν ἐπαναβαίνῃ τὸ ὕδωρ, ἄλλην καὶ ἄλλην
ἐφιστάντες, ὡς ἐρράγη καὶ ἀπῆλθε, πάντα εὑρε-
θῆναι τὰ ξύλα ἀσαπῆ. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐκ συμ-
πτώματος.
1 Plin. 16. 220 and 221.
2 τιτραίνεται conj. Scal. from (ἃ ; titpeverar UVO.3 πεπαινεται
MV Ald. 2 cf A;.14, δὶ
4 ὡσπερεὶ μυοδόχον conj. W.; ὥσπερ of μυόχοδοι MSS.; G
omits. The word μυοδόχος does not occur elsewhere as a
subst.
442
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. rv. 4-6
say that all woods are eaten by the teredon excent
the olive, wild or cultivated, and that these woods
escape because of their bitter taste. 1! Now woods
which decay in sea-water are eaten by the teredon,
those which decay on land by the skolex and thrips ;
for the feredon does not occur except in the sea.
It is a creature small in size, but has a large head
and teeth; the thrips resembles the skolex, and these
creatures gradually bore through ? timber. The harm
that these do is easy to remedy; for, if the wood is
smeared with pitch, it does not let in water when it
is dragged down into the sea; but the harm done by
the teredon cannot be undone. Of the skolekes which
occur in wood some come from the decay of the wood
itself,some from other skolekes which engender therein.
For these produce their young in timber, as the worm
called the ‘ horned worm’ ὅ does in trees, having bored
and scooped out a sort of mouse-hole‘ by turning
round and round. But it avoids wood which has a
strong smell or is bitter or hard, such as boxwood,
since it is unable to bore through it. They say too
that the wood of the silver-fir, if barked just before
the time of budding, remains in water without de-
caying, and that this was clearly seen at Pheneos
in Arcadia, when their plain was turned into a Jake
since the outlet was blocked ἀρ. For at that
time they made® their bridges of this wood, and,
as the water rose, they placed more and more atop
of them, and, when the water burst its way through
and disappeared, all the wood was found to be
undecayed. This fact then became known by means
of an accident.
5 of. 3.1.2. φραχθέντος conj. Sch.; βραχέντος Ald. H.
6 ποιοῦντες, ἐφιστάντες nom. pendens,
443
7
THEOPHRASTUS
na tal \ ,
"Ev Τύλῳ δὲ τῇ νήσῳ τῇ περὶ τὴν ᾿Αραβίαν
- , , / 5 A ὁ \ a “
εἶναί τί φασι ξύλον ἐξ οὗ τὰ πλοῖα ναυπηγοῦνται"
τοῦτο δὲ ἐν μὲν τῇ θαλάττῃ σχεδὸν ἄσηπτον
’,
εἶναι" διαμένει γὰρ ἔτη πλείω ἢ διακόσια κατα-
/ SAN \ yy / x a \
βυθιζόμενον: ἐὰν δὲ ἔξω, χρόνιον μὲν θᾶττον δὲ
Ν
σήπεται. (θαυμαστὸν δὲ καὶ ἕτερον λέγουσι,
᾽ \ \ \ \ “A s / /
οὐδὲν δὲ πρὸς THY σῆψιν. εἶναι γάρ τι δένδρον
> a \ / / \ /
ἐξ ov τὰς βακτηρίας τέμνεσθαι, καὶ γίνεσθαι
\ / / ΩΝ / e / “
καλὰς σφόδρα ποικιλίαν τινὰ ἐχούσας ὁμοίαν τῷ
τοῦ τίγριος δέρματι: βαρὺ δὲ σφόδρα τὸ ξύλον
a / \ /
τοῦτο" ὅταν δέ TLS ῥίψη πρὸς στερεώτερον τόπον,
/
κατάγνυσθαι καθάπερ Ta κεράμια.)
a , \ 4 Ὁ
Καὶ τὸ τῆς μυρίκης δὲ ξύλον οὐχ ὥσπερ
> a ’ / ᾽ ae \ “ / x
ἐνταῦθα ἀσθενές, ἀλλ᾽ ἰσχυρὸν ὥσπερ πρίνινον ἢ
καὶ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἰσχυρῶν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἅμα
/ \
μηνύει χώρας τε Kal ἀέρος διαφορὰς καὶ δυνάμεις.
τῶν δὲ ὁμογενῶν ξύλων, οἷον δρυΐνων πευκίνων,
ὅταν ταριχεύωνται---ταριχεύουσι γὰρ οὐκ ἐν ἴσῳ
βάθει πάντα δύοντες τῆς θαλάττης, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν
a a a \ \ \
πρὸς αὐτῇ τῇ γῇ, τὰ δὲ μικρὸν ἀνωτέρω, Ta δ᾽ ἐν
/ 7 / \ \ Ν \ ae é
πλείονι Baber: πάντων δὲ Ta πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν
a / , ef x b] A na
θᾶττον δύεται καθ᾽ ὕδατος, κἂν ἐπινῇ μᾶλλοι'
ῥέπει κάτω.
\ a
V. Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν evepya τῶν ξύλων, τὰ δὲ
δύσεργα: εὔεργα μὲν τὰ μαλακά, καὶ πάντων
| Plin. 16. 221; ef. 4. 7. 7.
Ὁ Teak. See Index App. (22).
3 Calamander-wood, See Index App. (23).
444
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. tv. 7-v. 1
1In the island of Tylos off the Arabian coast
they say that there is a kind of wood? of which
they build their ships, and that in sea-water this
is almost proof against decay; for it lasts more
than 200 years if it is kept under water, while, if
it is kept out of water, it decays sooner, though
not for some time. They also tell of another
strange thing, though it has nothing to do with
the question of decay: they say that there is a
certain tree,? of which they cut their staves, and
that these are very handsome, having a variegated
appearance like the tiger’s skin; and that this
wood is exceedingly heavy, yet when one throws
it down on hard ground‘ it breaks in pieces like
pottery.
Moreover, the wood of the tamarisk 5 is not
weak there, as it is in our country, but is as strong
as kermes-oak or any other strong wood. Now
this illustrates also the difference in properties
caused by country and climate. Moreover when wood,
such as that of oak or fir, is soaked in brine—not
all being soaked at the same depth in the sea,
but some of it close to shore, some rather further
out, and some at a still greater depth—*in all cases
the parts of the tree nearest the root (whichever
tree it is) sink quicker under water, and even if they
float, have a greater tendency to sink.
Which kinds of wood are easy and which hard to work. Of
the core and its effects.
V. Some wood is easy to work, some difficult.
Those woods which are soft are easy, and especially
4 πρὸς otep. τόπον can hardly be sound: ? ‘on something
harder than itself.’
5 See Index, μυρίκη (2). 6 Plin. 16. 186.
445
tw
THEOPHRASTUS
μαλίστα φίλυρα' δύσεργα δὲ καὶ τὰ σκληρὰ καὶ
τὰ ὀζώδη καὶ οὔλας ἔχοντα συστροφάς" δυσεργό-
τατα δὲ ἀρία καὶ δρῦς, ὡς δὲ κατὰ μέρος ὁ τῆς
πεύκης ὄζος καὶ τῆς ἐλάτης. ἀεὶ δὲ τῶν ὁμογενῶν
τὸ μαλακώτερον τοῦ σκληροτέρου κρεῖττον"
σαρκωδέστερον γάρ' καὶ εὐθὺ σκοποῦνται τὰς
σανίδας οἱ τέκτονες οὕτως. τὰ δὲ μοχθηρὰ
σιδήρια δύναται τέμνειν τὰ σκληρὰ μᾶλλον τῶν
μαλακῶν" ἀνίησι γὰρ ἐν τοῖς μαλακοῖς, ὥσπερ
ἐλέχθη περὶ τῆς φιλύρας, παρακονᾷ δὲ μάλιστα
τὰ σκληρά" δι ὃ καὶ οἱ σκυτοτόμοι ποιοῦνται
τοὺς πίνακας ἀχράδος.
Μήτραν δὲ πάντα μὲν ἔχειν φασὶν οἱ τέκτονες
φανερὰν δ᾽ εἶναι μάλιστα ἐν τῇ ἐλάτῃ" φαίνεσθαι
γὰρ οἷον φλοιώδη τινὰ τὴν σύνθεσιν αὐτῆς τῶν
κύκλων. ἐν ἐλάᾳ δὲ καὶ πύξῳ καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις
οὐχ ὁμοίως" δι’ ὃ καὶ οὔ φασί τινες ἔχειν τῇ
δυνάμει πύξον καὶ ἐλάαν: ἥκιστα γὰρ ἕλκεσθαι
ταῦτα τῶν ξύλων. ἔστι δὲ τὸ ἕλκεσθαι τὸ συμ-
περιΐστασθαι κινουμένης τῆς μήτρας. ζῇ γὰρ
ὡς ἔοικεν ἐπὶ χρόνον πολύν" δι’ ὃ πανταχόθεν
μὲν ἅμα μάλιστα δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν θυρωμάτων ἐξαιροῦ-
σιν, ὅπως ἀστραβῆ ἡ ἢ: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο σχίξουσιν.
ἼΛτοπον δ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν ὅτι ἐν μὲν τοῖς ξύλοις
τοῖς στρογγύλοις ἄλυπος ἡ μήτρα καὶ ἀκίνητος,
ἐν δὲ τοῖς παρακινηθεῖσιν, ἐὰν μὴ ὅλως ἐξαιρεθῇ,
᾿ ..9..39.
2 τὰ σκληρὰ conj. Sch. from G (3); ταῦτα P,Ald.H.
3 ἔχειν conj. Sch.; ἔχει ἢ Ald.H.
* ἐλάαν conj. Scal. from G ; ἐλάτην Ald. H.
5 7.e, and this happens less in woods which have little
core, ὁ ἅμα (? =dpolws) MSS. ; αὐτὴν conj. W.
446
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. v. 1-3
that of the lime; those are difficult which are
hard and have many knots and a compact and
twisted grain. The most difficult woods are those
of arta (holm-oak) and oak, and the knotty parts
of the fir and silver-fir. The softer part of any
given tree is always better than the harder, since
it is fleshier : and carpenters can thus at once mark
the parts suitable for planks. Inferior iron tools can
cut hard wood better than soft: for on soft wood
tools lose their edge, as was said! in speaking of the
lime, while hard woods®* actually sharpen it: where-
fore cobblers make their strops of wild pear.
Carpenters say that all woods have? a core,
but that it is most plainly seen in the silver-fir,
in which one can detect a sort of bark-like charac-
ter in the rings. In olive box and such woods
this is not so obvious ; wherefore they say that box
and olive 6 lack this tendency ; for that these woods
are less apt to ‘draw’ than any others. ‘ Drawing’
is the closing in of the wood as the core is dis-
turbed.° For since the core remains alive, it appears,
for a long time, it is always removed from any
article whatever made of this wood,° but especially
from doors,’ so that they may not warp®: and that
is why the wood is split.®
It might seem strange that in ‘round’ 10 timber
the core does no harm and so is left undisturbed,
while in wood whose texture has been interfered
with," unless it is taken out altogether, it causes
7 θυρωμάτων conj. Sch.; γυρωμάτων Ald. cf. 4. 1. 2; Plin.
16. 225, abietem valvarum paginis aptissimam.
8 ἀστραβῆ ἢ conj. Dalec.; ἀστραβῇ UMVAId.
9. 2,6. to extract the core. 10 See below, §5.
1 παρακινηθεῖσι, t.€. by splitting or sawing. πελεκηθεῖσι
conj. W.
447
THEOPHRASTUS
a \ / lal \ ᾽ \
κινεῖ Kal παραστρέφει' μᾶλλον γὰρ εἰκὸς γυμνω-
θεῖσαν ἀποθνήσκειν. ὅμως δὲ οἵ γε ἱστοὶ καὶ
Qn / a n
ai κεραῖαι ἐξαιρεθείσης ἀχρεῖοι. τοῦτο δὲ κατὰ
συμβεβηκός, ὅτι χιτῶνας ἔχει πλείους, ἰσχυρό-
τατον δὲ καὶ λεπτότατον δὲ τὸν ἔσχατον, ξηρότα-
, \ \ v SHON " AF 5
TOV γάρ, Kal TOUS ἄλλους ava λογον. ὃταν οὖν
A na ἈΝ ,
1 σχισθῇ, περιαιρεῖται τὰ ξηρότατα. εἰ δ᾽ ἡ μήτρα
ὃ x \ \ ͵ ὃ yg δὲ « 7
ιὰ τὸ ξηρὸν σκεπτέον. διαστρέφει δὲ ἑλκομένη
τὰ ξύλα καὶ ἐν τοῖς σχιστοῖς καὶ πριστοῖς, ὅταν
Ἁ ς ὃ a F ὃ lal ἣΝ ’ Oy \ , Ss
μὴ ὡς δεῖ πρίωσι: δεῖ yap ὀρθὴν τὴν πρίσιν εἶναι
\ Ἀ / Φ » a / D569 δὰ
καὶ μὴ πλαγίαν. οἷον οὔσης τῆς μήτρας ἐφ᾽ ἣν
\ x \ \ / > \ \ \
TO a, μὴ Tapa τὴν By τέμνειν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν
/ \ e/ / , , \ an
BS. φθείρεσθαι yap οὕτω φασίν, ἐκείνως δὲ ζῆν.
“ Ν a / ” / > ΄ὔ Μ A
ὅτι δὲ πᾶν ξύλον ἔχει μήτραν ἐκ τούτων οἴονται
\ a
φανερὸν γάρ ἐστι Kal τὰ μὴ δοκοῦντα πάντ᾽ ἔχειν,
\ rn rf
οἷον πύξον λωτὸν Tpivov. σημεῖον δέ: τοὺς yap
στρόφιγγας τῶν θυρῶν τῶν πολυτελῶν ποιοῦσι
xX
μὲν ἐκ τούτων, συγγράφονται δὲ οἱ ἀρχιτέκτονες
\ > / > \ \ a a
οὕτως «μὴ; ἐκ μήτρας. ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο σημεῖον
al / ty fal
Kal OTL πᾶσα μήτρα ἕλκεται, καὶ αἱ τῶν σκληρο-
/ / “
5 τάτων, ἃς δή τινες καρδίας καλοῦσι. παντὸς δὲ
And so cause no trouble.
cf. 5. 1. 6. πλείους conj. Sch. from G; ἄλλους» Ald. H.
Text probably defective ; ? insert ἐξῃρέθη after ξηρὸν.
The figure would seem to be
DC
ω ὦ Dm ~
448
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. v. 3-5
disturbance and warping: it were rather to be
expected that it would die! when exposed. Yet
it is a fact that masts and yard-arms are useless,
if it has been removed from the wood of which
they are made. This is however an accidental ex-
ception, because the wood in question has several
coats,? of which the strongest and also thinnest is
the outermost, since this is the driest, while
the other coats are strong and thin in proportion
to their nearness to the outermost. If therefore
the wood be split, the driest parts are necessarily
stripped off. Whether however in the other case
the object of removing the core is to secure dryness
is matter for enquiry. However, when the core
‘draws, it twists the wood, whether it has been
split or sawn, if the sawing is improperly performed :
the saw-cut should be made straight and not slant-
wiser hus, it ‘the core ‘be’ represented *by the
line A, the cut must be made along the line BD,
and not along the line BC: for in that case, they
say, the core will be destroyed, while, if cut in
the other way, it will live. For this reason men
think that every wood has a core: for it is clear
that those which do not seem to possess one never-
theless have it, as box nettle-tree kermes-oak : a proof
of this is the fact that men make of these woods the
pivots’ of expensive doors, and accordingly® the
headcraftsmen specify that wood with a core shall
not’ be used. This is also a proof that any core
‘draws, even those of the hardest woods, which
some call the heart. In almost every wood, even
5 cf, 5. 3. 5. στρόφιγξ here at least probably means ‘ pivot
and socket.’
§ οὕτως Ald.H.; αὐτοὺς conj. W. 7 un add. W.
449
THEOPHRASTUS
ὡς εἰπεῖν ξύλου σκληροτάτη καὶ μανοτάτη ἡ
μήτρα, καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐλάτης: μανοτάτη μὲν οὗν,
ὅτι τὰς ἶνας ἔχει καὶ διὰ πολλοῦ καὶ τὸ σαρκῶδες
τὸ ἀνὰ μέσον πολύ: σκληροτάτη δέ, ὅτι καὶ
αἱ ἶνες σκληρόταται καὶ τὸ σαρκῶδες" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ
οἱ ἀρχιτέκτονες συγγράφονται παραιρεῖν τὰ πρὸς
τὴν μήτραν, ὅπως λάβωσι τοῦ ξύλου τὸ πυκνότα-
τον καὶ μαλακώτατον.
Τῶν δὲ ξύλων τὰ μὲν σχιστὰ τὰ δὲ πελεκητὰ
τὰ δὲ στρογγύλα: σχιστὰ μέν, ὅσα διαιροῦντες
κατὰ τὸ μέσον πρίζουσι' πελεκητὰ δέ, ὅσων
ἀποπελεκῶσι τὰ ἔξω' στρογγύλα δὲ δῆλον ὅτι
Ta ὅλως ἄψαυστα. τούτων δὲ τὰ σχιστὰ μὲν
ὅλως ἀρραγῆ διὰ τὸ γυμνωθεῖσαν τὴν μήτραν
ξηραίνεσθαι καὶ ἀποθνήσκειν: τὰ δὲ πελεκητὰ
καὶ τὰ στρογγύλα ῥήγνυται: μᾶλλον δὲ πολὺ
τὰ στρογγύλα διὰ τὸ ἐναπειλῆφθαι τὴν μήτραν'
οὐδὲν γὰρ ὅτι τῶν ἁπάντων οὐ ῥήγνυται. τοῖς
δὲ λωτίνοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις οἷς εἰς τοὺς στρό-
φιγγας χρῶνται πρὸς τὸ μὴ ῥήγνυσθαι βόλβιτον
περιπλάττουσιν, ὅπως ἀναξηρανθῇ καὶ διαπνευσθῆ
κατὰ μικρὸν ἡ ἐκ τῆς μήτρας ὑγρότης. ἡ μὲν οὖν
μήτρα τοιαύτην ἔχει δύναμιν.
VI. Βάρος δὲ ἐνεγκεῖν ἰσχυρὰ καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη
καὶ ἡ πεύκη πλάγιαι τιθέμεναι: οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐν-
2 ξύλου σκληροτάτη conj. Sch. from (ἃ ; ξύλον σκληρότατον
UMV: so Ald. omitting καὶ.
2 ἀποπελεκῶσι conj. Sch.; ἀποπλέκωσι UM; ἀποπλέκουσι
Ald.; ἀποπελέκουσι mBas. ef: OcP ab. 1. Ὁ
450
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. v. 5—-v1. 1
in that of the silver-fir, the core is the hardest
part,! and the part which has the least fibrous
texture :—it is least fibrous because the fibres are far
apart and there is a good deal of fleshy matter
between them, while it is the hardest part because
the fibres and the fleshy substance are the hardest
parts. Wherefore the headcraftsmen specify that
the core and the parts next it are to be removed,
that they may secure the closest and softest part
of the wood.
Timber is either ‘ cleft,’ ‘hewn,’ or ‘round’: it is
called ‘cleft,’ when in making division they saw it
down the middle, ‘hewn’ when they hew off? the
outer parts, while ‘ round’ clearly signifies wood which
has not been touched atall. Of these, ‘cleft’ wood 2
is not at all liable to split, because the core when
exposed dries and dies: but ‘hewn’ and ‘round’
wood are apt to split, and especially ‘round’ wood,
because the core is included in it: no kind of timber
indeed is altogether incapable of splitting. The
wood of the nettle-tree and other kinds which are
used for making pivots for doors are smeared #
with cow-dung to prevent their splitting : the object
being that the moisture due to the core may be
gradually dried up® and evaporated. Such are the
natural properties of the core.
Which woods can best support weight.
VI. δ For bearing weight silver-fir and fir are strong
woods, when set slantwise’: for they do not give like
4 περιπλάττουσι conj. Sch. from G3; περιπάττουσιν Ald.H.
Plin. 16. 222. 5 ἀναξηρανθῇ conj. Sch.; ἀναξηραίνῃ Ald. H.
6 Plin. 16. 222-224.
7e9.asastrut. πλάγιαι conj. Sch. from Plin. l.c.3 ἁπαλαὶ
Ald. H.
451
THEOPHRASTUS
διδόασιν, ὥσπερ ἡ δρῦς Kal τὰ γεώδη, ἀλλ᾽ ἀντω-
θοῦσι" σημεῖον δὲ ὅτι οὐδέποτε ῥήγνυνται, καθάπερ
ἐλάα καὶ ὃρῦς, ἀλλὰ πρότερον σήπονται καὶ
ἄλλως ἀπαυδῶσιν. ἰσχυρὸν δὲ καὶ ὁ φοῖνιξ'
ἀνάπαλιν yap ἡ κάμψις ἢ τοῖς ἄλλοις γίνεται"
τὰ μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὰ κάτω κάμπτεται, ὁ δὲ φοῖνιξ
εἰς τὰ ἄνω. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν πεύκην καὶ τὴν
> / b) a ‘ \ a > “Ov ΤΣ ΄
ἐλάτην ἀντωθεῖν. τὸ δὲ τῆς Βὐβοϊκῆς καρύας,
γίνεται γὰρ μέγα καὶ χρῶνται πρὸς τὴν Meo ia
ὅταν μέλλῃ ῥήγνυσθαι ψοφεῖν ὥστε Terai av-
εσθαι πρότερον" ὅπερ καὶ ἐν ᾿Αντάνδρῳ συνέ-
πεσεν ἐν τῷ βαλανείῳ καὶ πάντες ἐξεπήδησαν.
ἰσχυρὸν δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς συκῆς πλὴν εἰς ὀρθόν.
Ἡ δὲ ἐλάτη μάλιστα ὡς εἰπεῖν ἰσχυρόν. πρὸς
δὲ τὰς τῶν τεκτόνων χρείας ἐχέκολλον μὲν μά-
λιστα ἡ πεύκη διά τε τὴν μανότητα καὶ τὴν
εὐθυπορίαν' οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅλως οὐδὲ ῥήγνυσθαί φασιν
SUN “ > , \ , \ ς
ἐὰν κολληθῇ. εὐτορνότατον δὲ φιλύκη, καὶ ἡ
/ “ ς “ / lal) Ni
λευκότης ὥσπερ ἢ τοῦ κηλάστρου. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων
ἡ φίλυρα: τὸ γὰρ ὅλον εὔεργον, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη,
διὰ “μαλακότητα. εὔκαμπτα δὲ ὡς μὲν ἁπλῶς
εἰπεῖν ὅσα γλίσχρα. διαφέρειν δὲ δοκεῖ συκά-
μίνος καὶ ἐρινεός, δι’ ὃ καὶ τὰ ie pla καὶ τὰς
στεφάνας καὶ ὅλως ὅσα περὶ τὸν κόσμον ἐκ
τούτων ποιοῦσι.
» \ \ Εν Ned / a
Εὔπριστα δὲ καὶ εὔσχιστα Ta ἐνικμότερα τῶν
1 i.e. the strut becomes concave or convex respectively.
ef. Ken... Cyr. δ. 1].
2 7.e. it cannot be used as a strut, or it would ‘buckle,’
though it will stand a vertical strain.
5 Plin,..16;, 225.
* of. C.P. δ. 17. 3. εὐθυπορώτατα : εὐθυπορίαν.
452
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. νι. 1-3
oak and other woods which contain mineral matter.
but make good resistance. A proof of this is that they
never split like olive and oak, but decay first or fail
in some other way. Palm-wood is also strong, for it
bends the opposite way to other woods: they bend
downwards, palm-wood upwards.! [Ὁ is said that fir
and silver-fir also have an upward thrust. As to the
sweet chestnut, which grows tall and is used for
roofing, it is said that when it is about to split, it
makes a noise, so that men are forewarned: this
occurred once at Antandros at the baths, and all those
present rushed out. Fig-wood is also strong, but only
when set upright.”
Of the woods best suited for the carpenter’s various purposes.
3The wood of the silver-fir may be called the
strongest of all. But for the carpenter’s purposes
fir best takes glue because of its open texture and
the straightness of its pores*; for they say that
it never by any chance comes apart when it is glued.
Alaternus® is the easiest wood for turning, and its
whiteness is like that of the holly. Of the rest
lime is the easiest, the whole tree, as was said,
being easy to work because of the softness of the
wood. In general those woods which are tough are
easy to bend. The mulberry and the wild fig seem
to be specially so; wherefore they make of these
theatre-seats,®> the hoops of garlands, and, in
general, things for ornament.
7 Woods which have a fair amount of moisture in
them are easier to saw or split than those which
Sef δὲ ἡ: 1.
5 Rendering doubtful. ἴκρια has probably here some un-
known meaning, on which the sense of κόσμον depends.
? Plin, 16. 227.
453
THEOPHRASTUS
πάμπαν ξηρῶν: τὰ μὲν yap παύονται, τὰ δὲ
ἵστανται; τὰ δὲ χλωρὰ λίαν συμμύει καὶ ἐνέχε-
ται ἐν τοῖς ὀδοῦσι τὰ πρίσματα καὶ ἐμπλάττει,
δι᾿ ὃ καὶ παραλλάττουσιν ἀλλήλων τοὺς ὀδόντας
ἵνα ἐξάγηται. ἔστι δὲ καὶ δυστρυπητότερα τὰ
λίαν χλωρά' βραδέως γὰρ ἀναφέρεται τὰ ἐκτρυ-
πήματα διὰ τὸ βαρέα εἶναι: τῶν δὲ ξηρῶν ταχέως
καὶ εὐθὺς ὁ ἀὴρ ἀναθερμαινόμενος ἀναδίδωσι:
πάλιν δὲ τὰ λίαν ξηρὰ διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα
δύσπριστα: καθάπερ γὰρ ὄστρακον συμβαίνει
πρίειν, dv ὃ καὶ τρυπῶντες ἐπιβρέχουσιν.
Εὐπελεκητότερα δὲ καὶ εὐτορνότερα καὶ εὐξο-
ὦτερα τὰ χλωρά: προσκάθηταί τε γὰρ τὸ τορνευ-
τήριον μᾶλλον καὶ οὐκ ἀποπηδᾷ. καὶ ἡ πελέκησις
τῶν μαλακωτέρων ῥᾷων, καὶ ἡ ἕξέσις δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ
ἔτε λειοτέρα. ἰσχυρότατον δὲ καὶ ἡ κράνεια, τῶν
δὲ ἄλλων οὐχ ἥκιστα ἡ πτελέα, δι’ ὃ καὶ τοὺς
στροφέας, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, ταῖς θύραις πτελεΐνους
ποιοῦσιν. ὑγρότατον δὲ μελία καὶ ὀξύη" καὶ γὰρ
τὰ κλινάρια τὰ ἐνδιδόντα ἐκ τούτων.
VII. “Ὅλως δὲ πρὸς ποῖα τῆς ὕλης ἑκάστη
χρησίμη καὶ ποία ναυπηγήσιμος καὶ οἰκοδομική,
πλείστη γὰρ αὕτη ἡ χρεία καὶ ἐν μεγίστοις,
πειρατέον εἰπεῖν, ἀφορίζοντα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον τὸ
χρήσιμον.
2 / \ s \ / \ / e e a
Ελάτη μὲν οὖν καὶ πεύκη καὶ κέδρος ὡς ἁπλῶς
1 παύονται can hardly be right: Plin. ἐ.6. seems to have
had a fuller text.
2 ἐμπλάττει: cf. de Sens. 66.
454
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vi. 3-vu. 1
are altogether dry: for the latter give,! while the
former resist. Wood which is too green closes up
again when sawn, and the sawdust catches in the
saw’s teeth and clogs” them; wherefore the teeth
of the saw are set alternate ways, to get rid of the
sawdust. Wood which is too green is also harder to
bore holes in; for the auger’s dust is only brought
up slowly, because it is heavy; while, if the wood is
dry, the air gets warmed by the boring and brings
it up readily and at once. On the other hand, wood
which is over dry? is hard to saw because of its
hardness: for it is like sawing through earthenware ;
wherefore they wet the auger when using it.
However green wood is easier to work with the
axe the chisel or the plane; for the chisel gets a
better hold and does not slip off. Again softer
woods are easier for the axe and for smoothing,’ and
also a better polished surface is obtained. The
cornelian cherry is also a very strong wood, and
among the rest elm-wood is the strongest ; where-
fore, as was 5814,5 they make the ‘hinges’ for doors
of elm-wood. Manna-ash and beech have very moist
wood, for of these they make elastic bedsteads.
Of the woods used in ship-building.
VII. Next we must endeavour to say in a general
way, distinguishing the several uses, for which
purposes each kind of timber is serviceable, which
is of use for ship-building, which for house-building :
for these uses extend far and are important.
Now silver-fir, fir and Syrian cedar δ are, generally
5 τὰ λίαν ξηρὰ conj. St.; λεῖα καὶ ξηρὰ Ald. H.
4 Se. with the carpenter’s axe.
BD. Os. Os 8 See Index.
455
to
THEOPHRASTUS
a i. ‘ 4 ‘ ‘
εἰπεῖν ναυπηγήσιμα: TAS μὲν γὰρ τριήρεις καὶ τὰ
a a \
μακρὰ πλοῖα ἐλάτινα ποιοῦσι διὰ κουφότητα, Ta
\ ‘
δὲ στρογγύλα πεύκινα διὰ TO ἀσαπές" ἔνιοι δὲ Kal
\ \ a
τὰς τριήρεις διὰ TO μὴ εὐπορεῖν ἐλάτης. οἱ δὲ
A yy , Ν I > / /
κατὰ Συρίαν καὶ Φοινίκην ἐκ κέδρου" σπανίξουσι
/ >] ,
yap καὶ πεύκης. οἱ δ᾽ ἐν Κύπρῳ πίτυος" ταύτην
γὰρ ἡ νῆσος ἔχει καὶ δοκεῖ κρείττων εἶναι τῆς
/ Ν N \ ” > 4 \ \
πεύκης. Kal τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐκ τούτων" τὴν δὲ
4 oh. /
τρόπιν τριήρει μὲν δρυΐνην, ἵνα ἀντέχῃ πρὸς τὰς
lA lal ἘΠῚ , ’ ts , ᾽
νεωλκίας, ταῖς δὲ ὁλκάσι πευκίνην' ὑποτιθέασι ὃ
Ψ \ oh 2 \ lal a ? ͵
ἔτι καὶ δρυΐνην ἐπὰν νεωλκῶσι, ταῖς δ᾽ ἐλάττοσιν
? ae \ a > 4 \ /
o€vivnv: Kal ὅλως ἐκ τούτου TO χέλυσμα.
Οὐχ ἅπτεται δὲ οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν κόλλησιν
7. nr /
ὁμοίως TO Spvivov τῶν πευκίνων Kal ἐλατίνων: τὰ
δ ¢ >
μὲν yap πυκνὰ Ta δὲ μανά, Kal τὰ μὲν ὅμοια τὰ ὃ
» a“ Ae a > ἊΝ /
ov. δεῖ δὲ ὁμοιοπαθῆ εἶναι τὰ μέλλοντα συμ-
7 \ \ > / / \
φύεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐναντία, καθαπερανεὶ λίθον Kai
ξύλον.
«ς δὲ ’, lal \ / Us
Η δὲ topveia τοῖς μὲν πλοίοις γίνεται συκα-
/
μίνου μελίας πτελέας πλατάνου: γλισχρότητα
a , n
yap ἔχειν δεῖ καὶ ἰσχύν. χειρίστη δὲ ἡ τῆς
a \
πλατάνου" ταχὺ yap σήπεται. ταῖς δὲ τριήρεσιν
oh. A ‘ \ ,
ἔνιοι Kal πιτυΐνας ποιοῦσι διὰ TO ἐλαφρόν. τὸ
\ / \ ᾿ς \ le 4 b
δὲ στερέωμα, πρὸς ᾧ TO χέλυσμα, Kal Tas ἐπω-
’ \ ’ \ /
τίδας, μελίας καὶ συκαμίνου Kal πτελέας" ἰσχυρὰ
1 τριήρει conj. W.; τριήρη U; τριήρης MV; τριήρεσι Ald.
3. ταῖς δ᾽ ἐλάττοσιν ὀξυίνην conj. W. (τοῖς Sch.); τοῖς μὲν
ἐλάττοσιν ὀξύη Ald. cf. Plin. 16. 226.
8 χέλυσμα, a temporary covering for the bottom: so Poll.
and Hesych. explain.
456
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vu. 1-3
speaking, useful for ship-building ; for triremes and
long ships are made of silver-fir, because of its light-
ness, and merchant ships of fir, because it does not
decay ; while some make triremes of it also because
they are ill provided with silver-fir. The people
of Syria and Phoenicia use Syrian cedar, since they
cannot obtain much fir either; while the people of
Cyprus use Aleppo pine, since their island provides
this and it seems to be superior to their fir. Most
parts are made of these woods; but the keel for a
trireme! is made of oak, that it may stand the haul-
ing; and for merchantmen it is made of fir. How-
ever they put an oaken keel under this when they
are hauling, or for smaller vessels a keel of beech ; 2
and the sheathing ? is made entirely of this wood.
4 (However oak-wood does not join well with glue
on to fir or silver-fir; for the one is of close, the
other of open grain, the one is uniform, the other
not so; whereas things which are to be made into
one piece should be of similar character, and not of
opposite character, like wood and stone.)
The work of bentwood® for vessels is made of
mulberry manna-ash elm or plane; for it must be
tough and strong. That made of plane-wood is the
worst, since it soon decays. For triremes some make
such parts of Aleppo pine because of its lightness.
The cutwater,® to which the sheathing is attached,’
and the catheads are made of manna-ash mulberry
4 This sentence is out of place; its right place is perhaps
at the end of § 4.
5 πορνεία; but the word is perhaps corrupt: one would
expect the name of some part of the vessel.
ὁ στερέωμα : apparently the fore part of the keel ; -Ξ- στεῖρα.
7 πρὸς ᾧ τὸ χέλυσμα οοΠ]. W. after Scal,; πρόσω: τὸ σχέλυσμα
Ald. (σχέλομα Μ, χέλυσμα Ὁ) πρόσω: τὸ δὲ χέλυσμα MBas.
457
THEOPHRASTUS
yap δεῖ ταῦτ᾽ elvat. ναυπηγήσιμος μὲν οὖν ὕλη
σχεδὸν αὕτη.
Οἰκοδομικὴ δὲ πολλῷ πλείων, ἔλάτη τε καὶ
πεύκη καὶ κέδρος, ETL κυπάριττος δρῦς καὶ ap-
κευθος: ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πᾶσα χρησίμη πλὴν
εἴ τις ἀσθενὴς πάμπαν" οὐκ εἰς ταὐτὸ γὰρ πᾶσαι,
καθάπερ οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ τῆς ναυπηγίας. αἱ δ᾽ ἄλλαι
πρὸς τὰ ἴδια τῶν τεχνῶν, οἷον σκεύη καὶ ὄργανα
καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερον. πρὸς πλεῖστα δὲ σχεδὸν
ἡ ἐλάτη παρέχεται χρείαν: καὶ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς
πίνακας τοὺς γραφομένους. τεκτονικῇ μὲν οὖν ἡ
παλαιοτάτη κρατίστη, ἐὰν ἢ ἀσαπής" εὐθετεῖ γὰρ
ὡς εἰπεῖν πᾶσι χρῆσθαι: ναυπηγικῇ δὲ διὰ τὴν
κώμψιν ἐνικμοτέρᾳ ἀναγκαῖον: ἐπεὶ πρός γε τὴν
κόλλησιν ἡ ξηροτέρα συμφέρει. ἵσταται γὰρ
καινὰ τὰ ναυπηγούμενα καὶ ὅταν συμπαγῇ καθ-
ελκυσθέντα συμμύει καὶ στέγει, πλὴν ἐὰν μὴ
παντάπασιν ἐξικμασθῇ: τότε δὲ οὐ δέχεται κόλ-
λησιν ἢ οὐχ ὁμοίως.
Δεῖ δὲ καὶ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον λαμβάνειν εἰς ποῖα
χρήσιμός ἐστιν. ἐλάτη μὲν οὖν καὶ πεύκη,
καθάπερ εἴρηται, καὶ πρὸς ναυπηγίαν καὶ πρὸς
1 ἐλάτη... ἄρκευθος conj. W.; ἐλάτη τε καὶ πεύκη καὶ κέδρος
ἔτι κυπάριττος δρῦς πεύκη καὶ κέδρος ἄρκευθος U; ἐλάτη τε καὶ
πεύκη καὶ κέδρος καὶ ὄρκευθος Ald.H.: so also MV, omitting
καὶ before ἀρκ.
2 ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς conj. Sch.; ἁπλῶς δ᾽ ὡς Ald.
3 καινὰ conj. Sch.; καὶ νῦν Ald.
4 συμπαγῇ conj. W., which he renders ‘when it has been
glued together’; συμπίῃ Ald. G’s reading was evidently
different.
458
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, Ν. vi. 3-5
and elm; for these parts must be strong. Such
then is the timber used in ship-building.
Of the woods used in house-building.
For house-building a much greater variety is
used, silver-fir fir and prickly cedar; also cypress
oak and Phoenician cedar.' In fact, to speak
generally,? any wood is here of service, unless it is
altogether weak : for there are various purposes for
which different woods are serviceable, just as there
are in ship-building. While other woods are service-
able for special articles belonging to various crafts,
such as furniture tools and the like, the wood of
silver-fir is of use for almost more purposes than any
other wood ; for it is even used for painters’ tablets.
For carpentry the oldest wood is the best, provided
that it has not decayed; for it is convenient for
almost anyone to use. But for ship-building, where
bending is necessary, one must use wood which
contains more moisture (though, where glue is to be
used, drier wood is convenient). For timber-work
for ships is set to stand when it is newly? made:
then, when it has become firmly united,‘ it is
dragged down to the water, and then it closes up
and becomes watertight,—unless® all the moisture
has been dried out of it, in which case it will not
take the glue, or will not take it so well.
Of the uses of the wood of particular trees.
But we must consider for what purposes® each
several wood is serviceable. Silver-fir and fir, as has
been said, are suitable both for ship-building house-
δ᾽ πλὴν ἐὰν μὴ conj. W.; 7. ἐάν re M; π. ἐάν γε Ald.
6 4.e. apart from ship-building and house-building, in
which several woods are used.
459
THEOPHRASTUS
’ , Ν Μ Ν ΝΜ “ yy ’
οἰκοδομίαν Kal ἔτι πρὸς ἄλλα τῶν ἔργων, εἰς
/ \ e 9 / 4 / - \ n \ >
πλείω δὲ ἡ ἐλάτη. πίτυϊ δὲ χρῶνται μὲν εἰς
ἄμφω καὶ οὐχ ἧττον εἰς ναυπηγίαν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ
ταχὺ διασήπεται. δρῦς δὲ πρὸς οἰκοδομίαν καὶ
πρὸς ναυπηγίαν ἔτι τε πρὸς τὰ κατὰ γῆς κατορυτ-
τόμενα. φίλυρα δὲ πρὸς τὰ σανιδώματα τῶν
μακρῶν πλοίων καὶ πρὸς κιβώτια καὶ πρὸς τὴν
τῶν μέτρων κατασκευήν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν
χρήσιμον πρός τε τὰ σχοινία καὶ πρὸς τὰς κίστας"
ποιοῦσι γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῆς.
Σφένδαμνός τε καὶ ζυγία πρὸς κλινοπηγίαν
\ ἊΝ \ \ “ 7 / x ’
Kal πρὸς τὰ ζυγὰ τῶν λοφούρων. μίλος δὲ εἰς
Ls / \ ς / \
παρακολλήματα κιβώτοις Kai ὑποβάθροις Kai
ὅλως τοῖς τοιούτοις. πρῖνος δὲ πρὸς ἄξονας ταῖς
μονοστρόφοις ἁμάξαις καὶ εἰς ζυγὰ λύραις καὶ
ψαλτηρίοις. ὀξύη δὲ πρὸς ἁμαξοπηγίαν καὶ
διφροπηγίαν τὴν εὐτελῆ. πτελέα δὲ πρὸς θυρο-
πηγίαν καὶ γαλεάγρας" χρῶνται δὲ καὶ εἰς τὰ
ἁμαξικὰ μετρίως. πηδὸς δὲ εἰς ἄξονάς τε ταῖς
e / \ ᾽ “ > / > /
ἁμάξαις Kai εἰς ἕλκηθρα τοῖς ἀρότροις. ἀνδράχλη
δὲ ταῖς γυναιξὶν εἰς τὰ περὶ τοὺς ἱστούς. ἄρ-
κευθος δὲ εἰς τεκτονίας καὶ εἰς τὰ ὑπαίθρια καὶ
εἰς τὰ κατορυττόμενα κατὰ γῆς διὰ τὸ ἀσαπές.
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ Εὐβοϊκὴ καρύα, καὶ πρός γε
\ / »Μ al >? , / \
τὴν κατόρυξιν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀσαπής. πύξῳ de
a ᾽ a
ρῶνται μὲν πρὸς ἔνια, ov μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἥ γε ἐν TO
΄ / \ \ as ΜῈ \
νομένη διὰ TO βραχεῖά τε εἶναι K
Ὀλύμπῳ γωομένη διὰ τὸ βραχεῖά το εἶναι καὶ
ὀζώδης ἀχρεῖος. τερμίνθῳ δὲ οὐδὲν χρῶνται
1 κίστας : οἵ. 3. 13. 1; perhaps ‘hampers,’ ef. 5. 7. 7.
2 παρακολλήματα: lit. ‘things glued on.’
3 Plin. 16. 229.
4 ταῖς μονοστρόφοις ἁμάξαις : or, perhaps, ‘the wheels of
460
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vit. 5-7
building and also for other kinds of work, but silver-
fir is of use for more purposes than fir. Aleppo pine
is used for both kinds of building, but especially for
ship-building, yet it soon rots. Oak is used for
house-building, for ship-building, and also for under-
ground work ; lime for the deck-planks of long ships,
for boxes, and for the manufacture of measures; its
bark is also useful for ropes and writing-cases,! for
these are sometimes made of it.
Maple and szygia are used for making beds
and the yokes of beasts of burden: yew for the
ornamental work attached? to chests and footstools
and the like: kermes-oak? for the axles of wheel-
barrows ὁ and the cross-bars of lyres and psalteries :
beech for making waggons and cheap carts: elm
for making doors and weasel-traps, and to some
extent it is also used for waggon work; pedos® for
waggon-axles and the stocks of ploughs: andrachne
is used for women for parts of the loom: Phoenician
cedar for carpenters’ work © and for work which is
either to be exposed to the air or buried underground,
because it does not decay. Similarly the sweet
chestnut is used, and it is even less likely to decay
if it is used for underground work. Box is used for
some purposes; however that which grows on
Mount Olympus’ is useless, because only short pieces
can be obtained and the wood® is full of knots.
Terebinth is not used,°® except the fruit and the resin.
carts with solid wheels.’ ταῖς conj. Sch.; τε καὶ UMV; τε καὶ
μονοστρόφους ἁμάξας Ald.
5 πηδος (with varying accent) MSS.: ῬΓΟΌΔΌΙΥ τε πάδος, 4. 1.
3; πύξος Ald., but see ὃ 7.
6 τεκτονίας can hardly be right. 7 of. 3. 15. 5.
8. cf. 1. 8. 2, of box in general; Plin. 16. 71.
5 Inconsistent with 5. 3. 2.
461
THEOPHRASTUS
πλὴν τῷ καρπῷ Kal TH ῥητίνῃ. οὐδὲ φιλυκῃ
πλὴν τοῖς προβάτοις: ἀεὶ γάρ ἐστι δασεῖα. τῇ
δὲ ἀφάρκῃ εἰς χάρακάς τε καὶ τὸ καίειν. κη-
δὰ 4 δὲ \ “ὃ \ B / ” δὲ
ἄάστρῳ δὲ καὶ σημύδᾳ πρὸς βακτηρίας. ἔνιοι δὲ
Ν , \ \ / ΄,
καὶ δάφνῃ" τὰς γὰρ γεροντικὰς καὶ κούφας ταύτης
a Ss / \
ποιοῦσιν. itéa δὲ πρός TE τὰς ἀσπίδας καὶ
\ / cal 4
τὰς κίστας καὶ τὰ κανᾶ καὶ τἄλλα. προσανα-
a fA) \ lal ” “ ς /
λαβεῖν δέ ἐστι Kal τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον ὁμοίως.
\ \ lal ,
Διήρηται δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰ τεκτονικὰ τῶν ὀργώ-
δι / , \
νων ἕκαστα κατὰ τὴν χρείαν: οἷον σφυρίον μὲν
/ \ / , a
Kal TEPETPLOV ἄριστα μὲν γίνεται κοτίνου: χρῶνται
J. .Λ of. \
δὲ καὶ πυξίνοις καὶ πτελεΐνοις καὶ μελείΐνοις" Tas
Ld ae a
δὲ μεγάλας σφύρας πιτυΐνας ποιοῦσιν. ὁμοίως
\ ἮΝ a Ly “ ” \ 4 \
δὲ Kal τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον ἔχει τινὰ τάξιν. καὶ
al ς a “
ταῦτα μὲν αἱ χρεῖαι διαιροῦσιν.
¢c lal δ «
VIII. ‘Exdaorn δὲ τῆς ὕλης, ὥσπερ Kal πρότερον
> / / \ \ / ” \ \
ἐλέχθη, διαφέρει κατὰ τοὺς τόπους" ἔνθα μὲν yap
‘ ΕΣ /
λωτὸς ἔνθα δὲ κέδρος γίνεται θαυμαστή, καθάπερ
\ \ / I / \ a
καὶ περὶ Συρίαν' ἐν Συρίᾳ γὰρ ἔν τε τοῖς ὄρεσι
Ἂν / a / a
διαφέροντα γίνεται τὰ δένδρα τῆς κέδρου καὶ TO
“ \ a / a 4 ae
ὕψει Kal τῷ Taye τηλικαῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ὥστ᾽
” \ \ ’ a ” /
ἔνια μὲν μὴ δύνασθαι τρεῖς ἄνδρας περιλαμβάνειν'
»Μ cal / /
ἔν τε τοῖς παραδείσοις ἔτει μείζω Kal καλλίω.
, N \ etd biel \ \ / ,
φαίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐάν τις ἐᾷ καὶ μὴ τέμνῃ τόπον
οἰκεῖον ἕκαστον ἔχον γίνεσθαι θαυμαστὸν τῷ
[2 ‘A lal
μήκει καὶ πάχει. ἐν Κύπρῳ γοῦν οὐκ ἔτεμνον οἱ
a “ \ nr
βασιλεῖς, ἅμα μὲν τηροῦντες Kal ταμιευόμενοι, ἅμα
1 Inconsistent with 5. θ. 2. φιλυρέα conj. Sch.
2 καὶ σημύδα conj. Sch.; καὶ μυῖα Ὁ ; καὶ μύα Ald. ef. 3. 14. 4.
462
ENQUIRY INFO: PLANTS, V. νι. τ ἢ
1 Alaternus is only useful for feeding sheep; for it is
always leafy. Hybrid arbutus is used for making
stakes and for burning: holly and Judas-tree? for
walking-sticks: some also use bay for these; for
of this® they make light sticks and sticks for old
men. Willow is used for shields hampers baskets
and the like. We might in like manner add the
several uses of the other woods.
4 Distinction is also made between woods according
as they are serviceable for one or other of the
carpenter's tools : thus hammers and gimlets are best
made of wild olive, but box elm and manna-ash are
also used, while large mallets are made of Aleppo
pine. In like manner there is a regular practice
about each of the other tools. Such are the
differences as to the uses of various woods.
Of the localities in which the best timber grows.
VIII. Each kind of timber, as was said before,
differs according to the place® where it grows;
in one place nettle-tree, in another the cedar is
remarkably fine, for instance in Syria; for in Syria
and on its mountains the cedars grow to a sur-
passing height and thickness: they are sometimes
so large that three men cannot embrace the tree.
And in the parks they are even larger and finer. It
appears that any tree, if it is left alone in its
natural position and not cut down, grows to a
remarkable height and thickness. For instance in
Cyprus the kings used not to cut the trees,
both because they took great care of them and hus-
3 ταύτης con}. H.; ταύτας UMVAId.
“Pliny 16. 230:
5 τόπους conj. Scal. from G3; πόδας Ald.
403
THEOPHRASTUS
δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ δυσκόμιστον εἶναι. μῆκος μὲν ἣν
τῶν εἰς τὴν ἑνδεκήρη τὴν Δημητρίου τμηθέντων
τρισκαιδεκαόργυιον, αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ξύλα τῷ μήκει
θαυμαστὰ καὶ ἄοζξα καὶ λεῖα. μέγιστα δὲ καὶ
παρὰ πολὺ τὰ ἐν τῇ Κύρνῳ φασὶν εἶναι: τῶν
γὰρ ἐν τῇ Λατίνῃ καλῶν γινομένων ὑπερβολῇ
καὶ τῶν ἐλατίνων καὶ τῶν πευκίνων---μείζω γὰρ
ταῦτα καὶ καλλίω τῶν ᾿Ιταλικῶν --οὐδὲν εἶναι
πρὸς τὰ ἐν τῇ Κύρνῳ. πλεῦσαι γάρ ποτε τοὺς
Ῥωμαίους βουλομένους κατασκευάσασθαι πόλιν
ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι ναυσί, καὶ τηλικοῦτον
εἶναι τὸ μέγεθος τῶν δένδρων ὥστε εἰσπλέοντας
εἰς κόλπους τινὰς καὶ λιμένας διασχισθεῖσι τοῖς
ἱστοῖς ἐπικινδυνεῦσαι. καὶ ὅλως δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν
νῆσον δασεῖαν καὶ ὥσπερ ἠγριωμένην τῇ ὕλῃ;
δι’ ὃ καὶ ἀποστῆναι τὴν πόλιν οἰκίζειν' διαβάντας
δέ τινας ἀποτεμέσθαι πάμπολυ πλῆθος ἐ ἐκ τόπου
βραχέος, ὥστε τηλικαύτην ποιῆσαι σχεδίαν ἣ
ἐχρήσατο πεντήκοντα ἱστίοις: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ
διαπεσεῖν αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ πελάγει. Κύρνος μὲν οὖν
εἴτε διὰ τὴν ἄνεσιν εἴτε καὶ τὸ ἔδαφος καὶ τὸν
ἀέρα πολὺ διαφέρει τῶν ἄλλων.
Ἢ δὲ τῶν Λατίνων ἔφυδρος πᾶσα" καὶ ἡ μὲν
πεδεινὴ δάφνην ἔχει καὶ “μυρρίνους καὶ ὀξύην
θαυμαστήν' τηλικαῦτα γὰρ τὰ μήκη τέμνουσι
ὥστ᾽ εἶναι διανεκῶς τῶν 'Τυρρηνίδων ὑπὸ τὴν
τρόπιν: ἡ δὲ ὀρεινὴ πεύκην καὶ ἐλάτην. τὸ δὲ
᾿ ait ae Poliorcetes. cf. Plut. Demetr. 43; Plin. 16.
ag RRO α conj. W.; é τὸν πύκνον Ald.; so U, but
πυκνον.
3. 4.e. against the overhanging trees. ἱστίοις, to which
διασχ. is more appropriate.
464
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V, vit. 1-3
banded them, and also because the transport of the
timber was difficult. The timbers cut for Demetrius’ !
ship of eleven banks of oars were thirteen fathoms
long, and the timbers themselves were without
knots and smooth, as well as of marvellous length.
But largest of all, they say, are the trees of
Corsica; for whereas silver-fir and fir grow in
Latium to a very great size, and are taller and
finer than the silver-firs and firs of South Italy,
these are said to be nothing to the trees of Corsica.
For it is told how the Romans once made an ex-
pedition to that island with twenty-five ships, wishing
to found a city there; and so great was the size of
the trees that, as they sailed into certain bays and
creeks, they got into difficulties? through breaking
their masts.2 And in general it is said that the
whole island is thickly wooded and, as it were, one
wild forest ; wherefore the Romans gave up the idea
of founding their city: however some of them made
an excursion ‘ into the island and cleared away a large
quantity of trees from a small area, enough to make
a raft with fifty sails ; 5 but this broke up in the open
sea. Corsica then, whether because of its uncultivated
condition or because of its soil and climate, is very
superior in trees to other countries.
The country of the Latins is all well watered ;
the lowland part contains bay, myrtle, and wonder-
ful beech: they cut timbers of it of such a size that
they will run the whole length® of the keel of a
Tyrrhenian vessel. The hill country produces fir and
silver-fir. The district called by Circe’s name is, it
4 διαβάντας δέ τινας conj. St. from G; διαβάντα δέ τινα Ald. H.
5 ἢ ἐχρήσατο πεντ. iat. conj. Sch.; 7 ἐχρήσαντο of Ald. H.
ὃ διανεκῶς conj. Sch.; διὰ νεὼς Ald.
465
THEOPHRASTUS
Kipxatov καλούμενον εἶναι μὲν ἄκραν ὑψηλήν,
δασεῖαν δὲ σφόδρα καὶ ἔχειν δρῦν καὶ δάφνην πολ-
λὴν καὶ μυρρίνους. λέγειν δὲ τοὺς ἐγχωρίους ὡς
ἐνταῦθα ἡ Κίρκη κατῴκει καὶ δεικνύναι τὸν τοῦ
᾿Ελπήνορος τάφον, ἐξ οὗ φύονται μυρρίναι καθά-
περ αἱ στεφανώτιδες τῶν ἄλλων ὄντων μεγάλων
μυρρίνων. τὸν δὲ τόπον εἶναι καὶ τοῦτον νέαν
πρόσθεσιν, καὶ πρότερον μὲν οὖν νῆσον εἶναι τὸ
Κιρκαῖον, νῦν δὲ ὑπὸ ποταμῶν τινων προσκε-
χῶσθαι καὶ εἶναι ἠϊόνα. τῆς δὲ νήσου τὸ μέγεθος
περὶ ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίους. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν
τόπων ἴδια πολλὴν ἔχει διαφοράν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται
πολλάκις.
ΙΧ. Τὸ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν πύρωσιν πῶς ἑκάστη
τῆς ὕλης ἔχει λεκτέον ὁμοίως καὶ πειρατέον
λαβεῖν. ἄνθρακες μὲν οὖν ἄριστοι γίνονται τῶν
πυκνοτάτων, οἷον ἀρίας δρυὸς κομάρον' στερεώ-
TATOL γάρ, ὥστε πλεῖστον χρόνον ἀντέχουσι καὶ
μάλιστα ἰσχύουσι" δι’ ὃ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀργυρείοις
τούτοις χρῶνται πρὸς τὴν πρώτην τούτων ἕψησιν.
χείριστοι δὲ τούτων οἱ δρύϊνοι: γεωδέστατοι yap’
χείρους δὲ καὶ οἱ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῶν νέων, καὶ
μάλιστα οἱ τῶν γερανδρύων διὰ ταὐτό: ξηρότατοι
γάρ, δι’ ὃ καὶ πηδῶσι καιόμενοι" δεῖ δὲ ἔνικμον
εἶναι.
Βέλτιστοι δὲ οἱ τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ καὶ μάλιστα οἱ
1 ef. Hom. Od. 10. 552 foll., 11. 51-80, 12. 8-15; Plin. 18.
119.
* νέαν πρόσθεσιν conj. Sch.; eis ἀνδρὸς θέσιν Ald,
466
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vii. 3-1x. 2
is said, a lofty promontory, but very thickly wooded,
producing oak, bay in abundance, and myrtle. There,
according to the natives, dwelt Circe, and they shew
Elpenor’s tomb,' on which grow myrtles like those
used for gaviands, though other kinds of myrtle are
large trees. Further it is said that the district is a
recent addition 2 to the land, and that once this piece
of land was an island, but now the sea has been
silted up by certain streams and it has become
united to the coast, and the size of the ‘island’ ἢ
is about eighty furlongs in circumference. There
is * then much difference in trees, as has been said
repeatedly, which is due to the individual character
of particular districts.
Of the uses of various woods in making fire: charcoal, fuel,
fire-sticks.
IX. Next we must state in like manner and
endeavour to determine the properties of each kind
of timber in relation to making fire. The best
charcoal is made from the closest wood, such as
aria (holm-oak) oak arbutus ; for these are the most
solid, so that they last longest and are the strongest ;
wherefore these are used in silver-mines for the first
smelting of the ore. Worst of the woods mentioned
is oak, since it contains most mineral matter,> and
the wood of older trees is inferior to that of the
younger, and for the same reason that of really old
trees © is specially bad. For it is very dry, wherefore
it sputters as it burns; whereas wood for charcoal
should contain sap.
The best charcoal comes from trees in their prime.
icf. unas 07. 4 ἔχει conj. Sch.; εἶναι Ald.
5 i.e. and so makes much ash. (0) 5.) FL ὍΣ
467
THEOPHRASTUS
“Ἵν cal / an “-“
τῶν κολοβῶν' συμμέτρως γὰρ ἔχουσι τῷ πυκνῷ
καὶ γεώδει καὶ τῷ ὑγρῷ: βελτίους δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν
/ \ nr , na
εὐείλων καὶ ξηρῶν Kai προσβόρρων ἢ ἐκ τῶν
’, lal
παλισκίων Kal ὑγρῶν Kal πρὸς νότον καὶ εἰ
¢ fal ld 5 ͵ὕ
ἐνικμοτέρας ὕλης, πυκνῆς" ὑγροτέρα yap ἡ πυκνή.
Ye: Ὁ Ea 4 x Ἁ Ν / /
καὶ ὅλως, ὅσα ἢ φύσει ἢ διὰ [τὸν] τόπον ξηρότερον
/ ) ς / / \ a > \
muxvotepa, ἐξ ἁπάντων βελτίω διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν
oe ὁ ,ὔ \ Μ bY \ ” \
αἰτίαν. χρεία δὲ ἄλλων ἄλλη: πρὸς ἔνια yap
“ ee a
ζητοῦσι τοὺς μαλακούς, οἷον ἐν τοῖς σιδηρείοις
n / lal “— A “
τοὺς τῆς καρύας τῆς Εὐβοϊκῆς, ὅταν ἤδη κεκαυ-
a: \ a , \ :
μένος ἦ, Kal ἐν τοῖς ἀργυρείοις τοὺς πιτυΐνους.
χρῶνται δὲ καὶ αἱ τέχναι τούτοις. ζητοῦσι δὲ
καὶ οἱ χαλκεῖς τοὺς πευκίνους μᾶλλον ἢ δρυΐνους"
’ >’ / ’ ᾽ > \ 4 b /
καίτοι ἀσθενέστεροι ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὴν φύσησιν ἀμεί-
/
νους ὡς ἧσσον καταμαραινόμενοι" ἔστι δὲ ἡ φλὸξ
7 \ \ δ
ὀξυτέρα τούτων. τὸ δὲ ὅλον ὀξυτέρα φλὸξ καὶ
\ A / “-“ nr
ἡ τούτων Kal ἡ τῶν ξύλων TOV μανῶν Kal κούφων
-“ > nr n Ὁ
καὶ ἡ τῶν αὔων' ἡ δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν πυκνῶν καὶ χλωρῶν
/ a
νωθεστέρα καὶ παχυτέρα: πασῶν δὲ ὀξυτάτη ἡ
ἐκ τῶν ὑλημάτων' ἄνθρακες δὲ ὅλως οὐ γίνονται
\ a
διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν TO σωματῶδες.
m/s \ \ σε > \ > \ Ἁ
Γέμνουσι δὲ καὶ ζητοῦσι εἰς τὰς ἀνθρακιὰς τὰ
1 κολοβῶν conj. Palm.; κολλάβων U; κολάβων Ald.
2 δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν conj. W.; δὲ καὶ of τῶν UMVP; δὲ of τῶν
Ald.H.
3 καὶ εἰ ἐνικμοτέρας conj. W.; καὶ of ἐνακμοτέρας U; kal ἡ ἐν
ἀκμητέρας MV; καὶ οἱ ἐν ἀκμητέρας Ald.Bas.Cam. The sense
seems to require ὕγροτέρας for ἐνικμοτέρας and ἐνικμοτέρα for
ὑγροτέρα. seems to have had a fuller text.
4 «.e. from growing in a damper place. cf. 5. 9. 4.
468
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1x. 2-4
and especially from trees which have been topped!:
for these contain in the right proportion the qualities
of closeness admixture of mineral matter and moisture.
Again better charcoal comes from trees? in asunny dry
position with a north aspect than from those grown in
a shady damp position facing south. Or, if the wood ὅ
used contains a good deal of moisture, it should be
of close texture ; for such wood contains more sap.°®
And, for the same reason, that which is of closer
texture either from its own natural character or
because it was grown in a drier spot,® is, whatever
the kind of tree, better.7 But different kinds of
charcoal are used for different purposes: for some
uses men require it to be soft; thus in iron-mines
they use that which is made of sweet chestnut
when the iron has been already smelted, and in
silver-mines they use charcoal of pine-wood: and
these kinds are also used by the crafts. Smiths 8
require charcoal of fir rather than of oak: it is
indeed not so strong, but it blows up better into
a flame, as it is less apt to smoulder: and the flame
from these woods is fiercer. In general the flame is
fiercer not only from these but from any wood which
is of open texture and light, or which is dry: while
that from wood which is of close texture or green is
more sluggish and dull. The fiercest flame of all
is given by brushwood; but charcoal cannot be
made from it at all, since it has not the necessary
substance.
They cut and require for the charcoal-heap straight
5 of. §1 ad fin.
8 ξηρότερον conj. W.; ξηρότερα UMV; πυκνότερα ξηρότερα
Ald. I have bracketed τὸν.
7 βελτίω conj. Sch.; βελτίων UM; βέλτιον Ald. H.
er Gye Ate 1G. 29.
46g
THEOPHRASTUS
᾽ ῇ \ \ a a \ ΄ ,
εὐθέα καὶ τὰ λεῖα" δεῖ γὰρ ws πυκνότατα συ!
a \ \
θεῖναι πρὸς τὴν κατάπνιξιν. ὅταν δὲ περι.
, AY
αλείψωσι τὴν κάμινον, ἐξάπτουσι παρὰ μέρος
4 > / >
παρακεντοῦντες ὀβελίσκοις. εἰς μὲν τὴν avOpa-
κιὰν τὰ τοιαῦτα ζητοῦσι.
/ a / Ἁ \
Δύσκαπνα δὲ τῷ γένει μὲν ὅλως τὰ ὑγρά" καὶ
\ \ \ la] / / \ be. 2 \
τὰ χλωρὰ διὰ τοῦτο δύσκαπνα. λέγω δὲ τὰ ὑγρὰ
δ /
Ta ἕλεια, οἷον πλάτανον ἰτέαν λεύκην αἴγειρον'
> \ NCR? yoy “ ς \ fs ᾽ Ν
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ ἄμπελος ὅτε ὑγρὰ δύσκαπνος. ἐκ δὲ
lal >O7 ’ ¢ Lal A \ \ / /
τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως ὁ φοῖνιξ, ὃν δὴ Kal μάλιστά
ς / , er \ ,
tives ὑπειλήφασι δύσκαπνον" ὅθεν καὶ Χαιρήμωι'
ἐποίησε “ τοῦ τε δυσκαπνοτώτου φοίνικος ἐκ γῆς
, / » 4 ξ Ν
ῥιζοφοιτήτους φλέβας." δριμύτατος δὲ ὁ καπνὸς
συκῆς καὶ ἐρινεοῦ καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ὀπῶδες" αἰτία
/ “. \
δὲ ἡ ὑγρότης: φλοϊσθέντα δὲ καὶ ἀποβρεχθέντ
© / \ \ a
ἐν ὕδατι ἐπιρρύτῳ Kal μετὰ ταῦτα ξηρανθέντα
> ’ ,
πάντων ἀκαπνότατα καὶ φλόγα μαλακωτάτην
᾿ ὦ \ fol > [4 . “
ἀνίησιν, ἅτε καὶ τῆς οἰκείας ὑγρότητος ἐξηρημένης.
A \ , A
δριμεῖα δὲ καὶ ἡ τέφρα Kal ἡ κονία ἡ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν.
/ id \ ᾽ \ “ ᾽ a
μάλιστα δέ φασι THY ἀπὸ τῆς ἀμυγδαλῆς.
\ \ \ ,
Πρὸς δὴ τὰς καμινίας καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας
Ν. ” / b] 7 \ »
ἄλλη ἄλλοις χρησίμη. ἐμπυρεύεσθαι δὲ ἄριστα
“ an / id / ‘
συκῆ καὶ ἐλάα: συκῆ μέν, OTL γλίσχρον TE καὶ
΄ “ τ. Ν > ’ > , , ¢
μανόν, ὥστε ἕλκει τε Kal ov δίεισιν: ἐλάα δέ, ὅτι
ν /
πυκνὸν καὶ λιπαρὸν.
1 χεῖα conj. Scal. from G; νέα Ald.
2 With sods. cf. Plin., 7.c., who seems to have had a fuller
text.
* An Athenian tragic poet. Scal. restores the quotation
470
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1x. 4-6
smooth ! billets: for they must be laid as close as
possible for the smouldering process. When they
have covered? the kiln, they kindle the heap by
degrees, stirring it with poles. Such is the wood
required for the charcoal-heap.
In general damp wood makes an evil smoke, and
for this reason green wood does so: I mean the
damp woods which grow in marshy ground, such
as plane willow abele black poplar: for even
vine-wood, when it is damp, gives an evil smoke.
So does palm-wood of its own nature, and some
have supposed it to give the most evil smoke of all:
whence Chaeremon? speaks of Veins issuing under-
ground from roots of palm with its malodorous smoke.”
Most pungent is the smoke of fig-wood, whether
wild or cultivated, and of any tree which has a
curdling juice; the reason lies in the sap; when
such wood has been barked and soaked in running
water and then dried, it gives as little smoke as
any other, and sends up a very soft‘ flame, since
its natural moisture also has been removed. The
cinders and ashes of such wood are also pungent,
and especially, they say, those of almond-wood.
For the crafts requiring a furnace and for other
crafts various woods are serviceable according to
circumstances.> For kindling fig and olive are best:
fig, because it is tough and of open texture, so that
it easily catches fire and does not let it through,®
olive, because it is of close texture and oily.
thus: τοῦ τε δυσκαπνωτάτου | φοίνικος ἐκ γῆς ῥιζοφοιτήτους
φλέβας (ῥιζοφιτύτους conj. Schneidewin).
4 2,6. not sputtering.
5 kat... χρησίμη conj. W.; τέχναις ἀλλήλοις χρησίμη U;
τ. ἀλλήλας xp. MV; τέχνη ἄλλη ἐστι xp. P3 τ. ἀλλήλοις ἐστὶ
χρησίμη Ald. δ ze. burn out quickly.
471
8
THEOPHRASTUS
Πυρεῖα δὲ γίνεται, μὲν ἐκ πολλῶν, ἄριστα δέ,
ὥς φησι Μενέστωρ, ἐκ κιττοῦ" τάχιστα yap Kal
πλεῖστον ἀναπνεῖ. πυρεῖον δέ φασιν ἄριστον
μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἀθραγένης καλουμένης ὑπό τινων'
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶ δένδρον ὅ ὅμοιον. τῇ ἀμπέλῳ καὶ τῇ
οἰνάνθῃ τῇ ἀγρίᾳ: ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνα καὶ τοῦτο ἀνα-
βαίνει πρὸς τὰ δένδρα. δεῖ δὲ τὴν ἐσχάραν ἐκ
τούτων ποιεῖν τὸ δὲ τρύπανον ἐκ δάφνης" οὐ γὰρ
ἐκ ταὐτοῦ τὸ ποιοῦν καὶ πάσχον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕτερον
εὐθὺ δεῖ κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ τὸ “μὲν δεῖ παθητικὸν
εἶναι τὸ δὲ ποιητικόν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ
αὐτοῦ γίνεται καί, ὥς γέ τινες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν,
οὐδὲν διαφέρει. γίνεται γὰρ ἐκ ῥάμνου καὶ
πρίνου καὶ φιλύρας καὶ σχεδὸν ἐκ τῶν πλείστων
πλὴν ἐλάας: ὃ καὶ δοκεῖ ἄτοπον εἶναι" καὶ γὰρ
σκληρότερον καὶ λιπαρὸν ἡ ἐλάα' τοῦτο μὲν οὖν
ἀσύμμετρον ἔχει δῆλον ὅτι τὴν ὑγρότητα πρὸς
τὴν πύρωσιν. ἀγαθὰ δὲ τὰ ἐκ ῥάμνου" ποιεῖ δὲ
τοῦτο καὶ τὴν ἐσχάραν χρηστήν' πρὸς γὰρ τῷ
ξηρὰν καὶ ἄχυμον εἶναι δεῖ καὶ μανοτέραν, ἵν᾽ ἡ
τρίψις ἰσχύῃ, τὸ δὲ τρύπανον ἀπαθέστερον' δι᾽
ὃ τὸ τῆς δάφνης ἄριστον" ἀπαθὲς γὰρ ὃν ἐργά-
ζεται τῇ δριμύτητι. πάντα δὲ τὰ πυρεῖα βορείοις
μὲν θᾶττον καὶ μᾶλλον ἐξάπτεται, νοτίοις δὲ
ἧττον: καὶ ἐν μὲν τοῖς μετεώροις μᾶλλον, ἐν δὲ
τοῖς κοίλοις ἧττον.
᾿Ανίει δὲ τῶν ξύλων τὰ κέδρινα καὶ ἁπλῶς ὧι
1 πο δὲ γίνεται μὲν conj. Sch.; π. μὲν γίνεται δὲ UMVAI.
2 ef. W203 a:
8 κιττοῦ conj. Bod. from de igne 64, Plin. 16. 208 ; καρύου Ald.
4 πυρεῖον conj. Salm.; πυροὶ UMVAId.
472
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1x. 6-8
Fire-sticks are made! from many kinds of wood,
but best, according to Menestor,? from ivy: for
that flares up most quickly and freely. They
say also that a very good fire-stick* is made of
the wood which some call traveller’s joy; this is
a tree like the vine or the ‘wild vine, which,
like these, climbs up trees. The stationary piece >
should be made of one of these, the drill of bay ;
for the active and passive parts of the apparatus
should not be of the same wood, but different in
their natural properties to start with, one being
of active, the other of passive character. Never-
theless they are sometimes made of the same wood,
and some suppose that it makes no difference.
They are made in fact of buckthorn kermes-
oak lime and almost any wood except olive;
which seems surprising, as olive-wood is rather
hard and oily; however it is plainly its moisture
which makes it less suitable for kindling. The
wood of the buckthorn is also good, and it makes
a satisfactory stationary piece; for, besides being
dry and free from sap it is necessary that this
should also be of rather open texture, that the
friction may be effectual; while the drill should
be one which gets little worn by use. And that
is why one made of bay is best; for, as it is not
worn by use, it is effective through its biting
quality. ΑἹ] fire-sticks take fire quicker and better
in a north than in a south wind, and better in an
exposed spot than in one which is shut in.
Some woods, such as prickly cedar, exude®
moisture, and, generally speaking, so do those
* 2.6. the piece of wood to be bored. of. de igne, lc,
ὃ ἀνίει. 1 ἀνιδίει.
473
THEOPHRASTUS
y , φ φ / ’ A \ \ ’ ‘ ,
ἐλαιώδης ἡ ὑγρότης: δι’ ὃ καὶ τὰ ἀγάλματα
, / la
φασιν ἰδίειν éviote? ποιοῦσι yap ἐκ τούτων. ὃ
al e /
δὲ καλοῦσιν οἱ μάντεις Εἰλειθυίας ἄφεδρον, ὑπὲρ
- ͵7 \ a If
οὗ Kat ἐκθύονται, πρὸς τοῖς ἐλατίνοις γίνεται
/ \ / a , ‘
συνισταμένης τινὸς ὑγρότητος, τῷ σχήματι μὲν
/ / \ ς / ” x \ “
στρογγύλον μέγεθος δὲ ἡλίκον ἄπιον ἢ καὶ μικρῷ
μεῖζον ἢ ἔλαττον. ἐκβλαστάνει δὲ μάλιστα τὰ
“. ’ ’ ,
ἐλάϊνα Kal ἀργὰ κείμενα καὶ εἰργασμένα πολλά-
/
Kis, ἐὰν ἰκμάδα λαμβάνῃ Kal ἔχῃ τόπον νοτερόν'
Le ' \ na / \
ὥσπερ ἤδη TLS στροφεὺς τῆς θύρας ἐβλάστησε, καὶ
’ , / lal 4 >’ /
εἰς KUALKLOV πλίνθινον τεθεῖσα κώπη EV THY.
lef. C.P. 5.4.4. οἱ μάντεις... ἐλατίνοις conj. Lobeck.:
οἱ λεῖαν. .. τοῖς Exativois U; οἰλείαν. .. τοὺς ἐκματίνοις V; οἱ
λεῖαν τῆς εἰληθήας... τοῖς ἐκματίνοις M ; of λεῖαν τῆς ἀληθυία:
ἔφάιδρον... τοὺς ἑκατίνους Py; ἰλεῖαν τῆς εἰληθνίας ἔφυδρο»...
τοὺς ἑκατίνους Ald.
414
ENQUIRY INTO) PLANTS, V. 1x.'8
whose sap is of an oily character; and this is
why statues are sometimes said to ‘sweat’; for
they are made of such woods. That which seers
call the menses of Kileithuia,’! and for the appearance
of which they make atonement,? forms on the wood
of the silver-fir when some moisture gathers on it:
the formation is round * in shape, and in size about
as large as a pear, or a little larger or smaller.
Olive-wood is more apt than other woods to pro-
duce shoots even when lying idle or made into
manufactured articles ; this it often does, if it obtains
moisture and lies in a damp place; thus the socket
of a door-‘hinge’+ has been known to shoot, and
also an oar which was standing in damp earth in an
earthenware vessel.®
2
24.e.asa portent. cf. Char. 16. 2.
3 στρόγγυλον conj. Sch.; στρογγύλης UMVP, Ald.
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